Toothbrushing in schools planned for Essex and Suffolk children

The grants have been suggested for 31 March onward in Suffolk and north east Essex

Supervised toothbrushing in schools has been proposed as part of a £2.8m package to improve oral health.

Health directors in Essex and Suffolk suggested grants for the two counties to be handed out from 31 March.

The measures include expanding supervised brushing in early years and school settings to children aged two to eight.

Peter Aldous, the Conservative MP for Waveney, previously described Suffolk as a "dental desert".

The Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board, which is in charge of commissioning NHS services in the area, met to discuss the proposals on Tuesday.

The board is made up of local health experts, including doctors and nurses from the private and public sectors.

The investment package suggested giving £966,514 to Suffolk County Council, which included funding for:

• More Keep Suffolk Smiling Packs, targeting vulnerable and isolated communities over five years

• Expansion of the supervised toothbrushing schemes over two years

• Dental varnishing programmes in the community, including the hiring of two community nurses, over two years

A further £320,928.50 was earmarked for north east Essex, to be distributed by Essex County Council, which included supervised toothbrushing schemes and oral health training on a smaller scale.

The funding would come out of the NHS England budget.

Members of Toothless In Suffolk held a protest in Leiston in April lobbying for a private dentist to take NHS patients

Mr Aldous brought a debate to Westminster Hall over dental care last year, along with Labour MP Judith Cummins, and said 56% of new patients in Waveney could not see an NHS dentist.

The campaign group Toothless in Suffolk has been calling since 2021 for greater provision of NHS dentistry in the area.