BrightBites reaches more than 10,000 children in East of England
Our oral health education initiative BrightBites has now taught more than 10,000 children across the East of England about the importance of a healthy smile.
BrightBites, a partnership between Dentaid The Dental Charity and Denplan, features oral health educators leading lively and interactive sessions which talk to primary school-aged children about the importance of protecting their teeth and gums.
They covered the different names and functions of teeth, how to brush teeth correctly, awareness of sugar levels in popular foods and drinks, and the importance of practising toothbrushing and visiting the dentist regularly.
Each child also received a toothbrush and toothpaste following the session, to encourage healthy habits at home.
Tiffany Neath, Nursery Manager at Little Owls Nursery in Toftwood in Norfolk, said: “With the current dental crisis, we were delighted to find a service like BrightBites to provide guidance on how to keep good oral health for our children.
They made learning about oral health so fun and interactive for children and used props such as a teddy bear to demonstrate how to brush your teeth effectively.
The children thoroughly enjoyed taking part and each received their own toothpaste and toothbrush to support their oral health at home.”
In all, BrightBites sessions have now been delivered in more than 100 locations across Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, including in schools, nurseries, after-school groups and as part of holiday activity clubs.
BrightBites, which has reached more than 160,000 children across the UK, is specifically focused on schools and childcare providers in communities where children are at risk of social exclusion.
By teaching children aged 3 to 11 about the importance of good oral hygiene, any unhealthy habits can be identified and changed, giving them a better chance of being able to protect their teeth into adulthood.
Jill Harding, Head of Marketing and Communications at Dentaid The Dental Charity said: “It was great to see how involved the children got and how they interacted with games like cleaning a giant set of teeth or finding out which foods were good for their teeth and which were not.
It definitely got a lot of children thinking about what choices they could make to help protect their teeth in the future.
“Oral health education can make a big difference in helping to bring down rates of tooth decay among children, and we’re committed to bringing BrightBites into as many new schools as we can to help achieve that.”
Charlotte Cook, ESG Lead at Simplyhealth and Denplan said:
“It’s deeply concerning that tooth decay remains the leading cause of hospital admissions for children aged six to ten– especially when it’s largely preventable through proper daily brushing and regular dental visits.
“However, for many who are at risk of social exclusion, access to basic oral health products and services is limited, which is why we are committed to delivering BrightBites to 500,000 children.
“We’re incredibly proud of the programme and its continued positive impacts. By focusing on education and prevention, we know we can help children build lifelong healthy habits.”
Anyone who would like to organise a BrightBites visit at their school or wants to volunteer to take part in a session can get in touch by visiting www.dentaid.org/brightbites.
Breakdown of figures for schools visited and children seen in the East of England:
| County | Schools visited | Children seen |
| Cambridgeshire | 25 | 1,840 |
| Essex | 9 | 550 |
| Norfolk | 53 | 5,738 |
| Suffolk | 19 | 2,149 |