Hundreds of thousands of children benefit from major dental health drive
Source: gov.uk (2025-09-15)

Hundreds of thousands of 3 to 5-year-olds in deprived areas of England have received over 2 million toothbrushes and toothpastes in major dental health drive.

- Groundbreaking government collaboration with Colgate-Palmolive will deliver more than 23 million toothbrushing products to support the NHS and help protect children from tooth decay
- National supervised toothbrushing programme is tackling health inequalities and raising the healthiest generation of children, as part of the government’s Plan for Change
Over 2 million free toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste have been delivered to children in the most deprived areas of England, thanks to a groundbreaking partnership between the government and Colgate-Palmolive.

The milestone this month is part of the government’s Plan for Change to give children the best start in life. It marks the beginning of a 5-year collaboration between the government and Colgate-Palmolive to help children develop positive toothbrushing habits and set them on a path to better oral health.

Up to 600,000 3 to 5-year-olds in early years settings will benefit from the pioneering scheme which will help to develop good toothbrushing habits this school year.

Health Minister Stephen Kinnock was in Sheffield yesterday visiting Tinsley Primary School to see how the rollout was progressing in the city, where nearly 9,500 children will receive brushing products this year.

Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said:

It is Dickensian that a third of 5-year-olds in the most deprived areas of this country have suffered tooth decay, and that children are most commonly admitted to hospital to get their teeth removed.

Our Plan for Change is tackling the country’s shameful health inequalities and rooting out these health issues that can have a lifelong impact on children as we drive forward a major shift in care from treatment to prevention.

Our partnership with Colgate-Palmolive will help give children the best start in life by reinforcing good toothbrushing habits, vastly improving dental and oral health.

Education Minister and Minister for Equalities Olivia Bailey said:

Giving children the best start in life means giving them the skills and habits that set them up for the future, and that includes something as simple but vital as daily toothbrushing.

Through our Plan for Change, we are working across government to make sure tens of thousands more children - a record share - are school-ready at age 5, so they reach the school gate healthy, confident and ready to learn.

Alongside delivering important schemes like this one, we have increased access to high-quality early years care for hundreds of thousands of families through the rollout of 30 hours’ government-funded childcare, and through our Best Start in Life strategy we’re going even further to rebuild early years services, recruit more early years teachers and open Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority.

The scheme will reduce the number of decayed teeth in children, which remains the most common reason for a 5 to 9-year-old child to be admitted to hospital in England, with 70 a day having teeth extracted due to decay.

Through its Plan for Change, the government is tackling health inequalities, like tooth decay in children, as part of its major shift from sickness to prevention. The government is also driving forward action to improve oral health across the country and fundamentally reform the NHS dental sector.

Alongside investment in Best Start Family Hubs - which will act as a one-stop shop for parents seeking support on everything from breastfeeding difficulties and housing issues to children’s early development and language - the government is also taking action to raise the healthiest generation of children and tackle health inequalities by cracking down on junk food advertising, introducing new healthier baby food standards and banning the sales of high-caffeine drinks to under-16s.

Supervised toothbrushing is the government’s first step to improving children’s oral health. There has also been a consultation to expand community water fluoridation to the North East (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/community-water-fluoridation-expansion-in-the-north-east-of-england), which will help improve dental health and tackle long-standing inequalities in the region.

Through an innovative collaboration with Colgate-Palmolive, 2 million toothbrushes and toothpastes have been delivered, with a total of over 23 million toothbrushes and toothpastes committed over the next 5 years to support the programme.

Designed to reduce inequalities in oral health and to make sure every child living in a deprived area has access to evidence-based oral health interventions across the country, the programme is expected to return £3 for every £1 the government invested, with a potential of over £34 million generated for the investment committed this year over the next 5 years.

This initiative complements action already underway through the Plan for Change to make family life easier and ease the burden on parents, including the expansion of free school meals to households on Universal Credit, a cap on school uniform costs, and the biggest ever increase in funded childcare.

Colgate-Palmolive’s representative, Jimena Rodriguez, VP, Consumer Experience said:

At Colgate-Palmolive, our purpose is to reimagine a healthier future for all. We believe every child deserves a healthier smile - and a brighter future.

That’s why we were excited to see the launch of the Supervised Brushing Programme and to have already delivered more than 2 million fluoride toothpaste and toothbrush products directly to children who need them most, and an additional 3 million products by the end of December.

This achievement marks a significant step forward in tackling oral health inequalities and making meaningful, lasting impact where it’s needed most.

The strides we are making today aren’t just about brighter smiles - they are about building a solid foundation for better health and brighter opportunities for generations to come.

Dr Oosh Devalia, President of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD), said:

The news of the progress being made in rolling out the supervised toothbrushing initiatives targeting areas of highest need is welcomed by the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry. We have been pushing for this for over a decade and had included it in our BSPD Blueprint to policymakers on the steps needed to turn around children’s oral health.

It is an evidence-based intervention that gives children a better oral health start in life, as well as saving money for the NHS in the long-term - and it is simple to carry it out in early years settings. This is a great start, but there is still much to do to reach all the children who need this support.

Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Health and Wellbeing Committee, said:

Supporting children, particularly in the most deprived areas, to develop positive brushing habits and prevent tooth decay is vital to improving overall health outcomes, reducing health inequalities and easing pressure on other areas of the health and care system.

We know that right from a young age, good oral health can impact the speech, sleep, eating and overall health of a child. Councils up and down the country have been working hard with local early years providers and schools to improve the oral health of children.

The national supervised toothbrushing programme is supporting councils at all stages, whether expanding existing efforts or beginning new ones, to improve children’s oral health and help give every child the best start in life.