Families living in poverty

Our projects provide a charitable mobile dental service in areas of deprivation and poverty where families struggle to access dental care.

For families living in poverty, maintaining oral health may be moved down the list of priorities as they struggle to meet other needs. We often hear of parents being forced to rely on cheaper or donated foods giving them less control over maintaining a healthy diet.

Hygiene poverty is an increasing problem in the UK. Dentaid The Dental Charity is aware that children are sharing brushes with siblings or using toothbrushes that are no longer fit for purpose. A report commissioned by the BBC in January 2025 found that a third of teachers say their school is helping children with teeth-brushing including providing brushes and paste for some of their pupils. ¹

Dentaid partners with organisations such as family hubs and warm spaces to ensure that poverty is not a barrier to accessing dental care. We work with our volunteer dentists and dental nurses to provide emergency treatments such as extractions and fillings which can provide relief from dental pain.

Our treatment is always supported by oral health advice both on our charity dental units and through our BrightBites programme which sees volunteers teaching children about toothbrushing, healthy diets and dental care while handing out toothbrushes and toothpaste to encourage healthy habits.