With the new administration yet to keep its promise to expand the rollout of programmes in schools, new research in the BDJ indicates huge variation in existing provision from cash-strapped local authorities.
This major national survey found most of the existing schemes in England run or commissioned by local authorities are targeted to areas of deprivation or where the prevalence of dental disease is highest. However, huge variation in coverage means children reached varied from just 70 to 10,170 per local authority, with the number of settings covered ranging from 3 to 211.
This research shows ongoing funding is essential. Despite huge returns on investment through reduced treatment need, the report found that without a sustainable, ideally recurrent, funding mechanism, it is not possible for some areas to implement a supervised toothbrushing programme at all, with 4 in 10 English councils not currently able to afford to do so.
We have long championed these programmes, which have secured multi-million pound savings in Wales and Scotland, as part of properly funded national efforts. We urge the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to address the postcode lottery of provision in England, and to stand up to likely Treasury pressure for excessive targeting of any new schemes which would be a false economy.
This pledge was one of many manifesto pledges on dentistry set to be paid for by a clampdown on non-doms. With the Treasury ready to U-turn, we need clarity that adequate new investment will be put in place.
“Ministers have a chance to save children pain and our NHS a fortune, but only if they are willing to invest,” says BDA Chair Eddie Crouch.
“We need more than the current postcode lottery of provision. Austerity-fuelled hyper-targeting will not achieve the change our children deserve.”
The press is already leading on our challenge to government. Officials say “We will fix this, introducing supervised toothbrushing in early years settings and putting prevention at the heart of our plan to rebuild dentistry.”
We welcome the sentiment, but as with fixing broken contracts making big promises won’t change things. Action will.