More schools set for city's toothbrushing scheme

Three-year-old Zunaira said she loved the supervised toothbrushing sessions at her school

Parents say a supervised toothbrushing programme in their children's school has helped their youngster's health, as the scheme is set to be rolled out to dozens more schools and nurseries in the city.

Dedicated funding was put towards sessions in the most deprived areas of England by the government, as those areas are where children are most at risk of tooth decay.

Birmingham received £587,797 for 2025-26 and the city's scheme will be rolled out by the city council to 75 more schools and nurseries.

Dentist Ahmad Tadmory said it was needed as one in four children he saw at his practice covering the Hockley and Lozells areas had tooth decay.

"With some of the children that we see, we try as best as we can to restore their teeth," he said

"Unfortunately, quite a lot of the time when these patients present to us, we can't actually fix their teeth so then we're having to do extractions."

Dentist Ahmad Tadmory about a quarter of the children he saw at his practice had tooth decay

About one out of every four, five-year-olds in England has had tooth decay - and in poorer areas, it is one in three.

Birmingham trialled its supervised brushing programme in 15 schools over the past few months, including Ladypool Primary School in Sparkbrook area

Three to five year olds there are taught how to brush their teeth every day, singing songs and enjoying music as staff said the aim was to make the lessons fun.

Twins Rayyan and Farhan were only too happy to demonstrate how they brushed their teeth

Three-year-old Zunaira happily showed off what her routine involved.

"I brush my teeth like this," she smiled, demonstrating.

While four-year-old twins Rayyan and Farhan mimed how to brush their teeth too, saying in unison: "Up and down, side to side, round and round."

The idea of the scheme, according to experts, is not to replace toothbrushing at home but to help build skills, good habits and confidence.

Four-year-old Fatima explained: "It is to protect your teeth."

Teacher Claire Twells was among the staff supervising pupils at the school

Their toothbrushes are stored in named racks and the children are also given toothbrushes and toothpaste to take home.

Mum Hajera said her five-year-old son Aidan comes home "and says, 'mummy, I need to brush my teeth before bed'.

"He'll wake up in the morning and he's singing the song and he's doing the toothbrushing as well, so it's great," she added.

While Fatima said her three-year-old daughter Amelia told her every morning and evening that she needed to brush her teeth and, hearing that, "it's amazing", she said.

Mums Hajera and Fatima said their children enjoyed the lessons

Teacher Claire Twells said: "This is a really fun practical way for the children to learn with friends to instil a good routine for the rest of their lives."

Councillor Mariam Khan, cabinet member for health with the city council, said the schools they picked for the scheme were chosen based on the areas with the highest levels of deprivation.

"Having an opportunity like this is fantastic for us to ensure that no child is left behind," she added.

Councillor Mariam Khan said they had picked schools in Birmingham's most deprived areas for the scheme