IMPACT SNAPSHOT: BRUSH: Tackling Children’s Tooth Decay

We developed evidence-based solutions for school toothbrushing programs, influencing £11 million government investment to tackle tooth decay affecting 25% of five-year-olds.

#Sickness to Prevention

The BRUSH project has addressed a critical public health challenge where a quarter of five-year-old children in England suffer from tooth decay, rising to 50% in deprived areas. With tooth decay being the leading cause of hospital admission for children aged 5-10, the project developed evidence-based solutions to implement supervised toothbrushing programmes in nursery and school settings. By creating comprehensive implementation resources and conducting extensive stakeholder research, BRUSH has transformed how local authorities and health services deliver preventive oral health interventions to high-risk children.

Key impacts include:

• Engaged 153 stakeholders through interviews to identify implementation barriers and develop solutions.
• Created an online implementation toolkit (www.supervisedtoothbrushing.com) receiving over 17,000 visitors since January 2024 (11,000 unique visitors)
• Conducted 3 national surveys (2022, 2024 and 2025) demonstrating increased local authority participation and child enrolment in programmes.
• Influenced £11 million government commitment for supervised toothbrushing programmes for 3-5 year olds in deprived areas.
• Addresses tooth decay affecting 25% of five-year-olds (50% in deprived areas), potentially reducing £50 million annual NHS costs from related hospital admissions.

The project’s resources are now embedded in Department for Education guidance and endorsed by key dental societies. BRUSH continues to support programme expansion across England, with supervised toothbrushing clubs included in the Government’s Family Hubs recovery plan and adopted as a Labour party election commitment, demonstrating sustained policy influence in reducing children’s oral health inequalities.