Teeth cleaning in nursery

[Pinkpepper79]

Does your child clean their teeth at nursery? As of September my child's nursery is going to be cleaning their teeth. Surely that is my responsibility as a parent. Teeth cleaning is a little activity I like to do an make it fun. I don't want a paid member of staff taking on that role. There is no opt out option. New government guidelines or something

You are kidding me. Have you read the repliesof how it is done in nursery?

My child had asd needs a brace but getting him to clean his teeth is a challenge another setting would help.

Complete non issue. I'm 33 and brushed my teeth at nursery every lunchtime. My toothbrush had a hedgehog on it :)

My daughters nursery promote tooth brushing as well and it has never occurred to me to be anything but pleased that she gets to brush her teeth 3x a day

@Noterook

Schools and nurseries seem to be taking on more and more of basic parental responsibility tasks, won't be long until they're getting them dressed in the morning. It won't harm to do teeth again during the day, but I would keep the routine at home as a priority so it's consistent when they aren't at nursery.

Some nurseries do do that, as well as giving them their evening bath, putting pyjamas on and giving them their dinner/tea.

@Pinkpepper79

We all have our own toothpaste in my house. It is well documented that the mouth is full of bacteria. I am shocked that people all share 🤯🤢

This thread has got to be a windup???

I've seen someone on here before suggesting that a household shouldn't have their toothbrushes in the same cup cos 'germs'. Now you aren't sharing toothpaste???

Do you not kiss you partner or your kids? Of course the mouth is full of germs! But it is actually extremely important to have exposure to some germs. And shockingly, the vast majority of people who share a toothbrush holder or the same toothpaste tube haven't dropped dead.

Leave the nursery alone, making a fuss just gives them even more work and less time to focus on your child!

They've been doing this in Wales for the last six years OP. At least since my youngest DS was born.

My kids have yet to been injured by toothpaste cross contamination. The school tend to just send them home each term with a cheap toothbrush and toothpaste since covid.

That’s great, they’ve been doing this in Sweden for many years and it’s been very successful . You use the same tube of toothpaste yes, but you can put little individual clicks of toothpaste on a plate or tissue so that the toothbrushes don’t come in contact with the tube .

@bullockstoit
Hopefully they make sure its at least 20 minutes after and not before or they damage the enamel.

@rantymcrantface66
Some posts have said it's ticked the requirement off the list becouse they brush the teeth.....it hasn't they need to show that they are promoting current guidence in England it is clearly stated current dental advice is to brush twice daily first and last thing. At least 20 minutes after food including milk.....posters thinking they have ticked becouse they brush after a meal will not meet the guidence. So not a good reason to do it. You need to demonstrate techniques....so some brushing fine....but at least 20 minutes after.....education and information sharing to parents, food and dental visits.
You also have to be aware of the dangers of over brushing. Scotland has particular problems with dental hygiene so special measures were put in.
All I'm saying is brushing teeth does not meet the ofsted requirement they do not want you to do that thinking you've ticked it off

I'm also saying parents don't have to give permission becouse many seem to think they do.....its an intimate procedure like nit inspections you need permission to do it.

The EYFS is changing in September, there is now a requirement for early years providers to promote dental health in children. They do not have to run a supervised tooth brushing programme but one of the experts who helped develop the non statutory guidance does this in his nursery.

Lord only knows how they make time for this...In full day care I can see this working, in sessional care like mine, no way. I need to think of other approaches which will probably start with pointing out how much sugar is getting put in their lunch boxes and the extended use of bottles.

A) I would pay someone to brush DDs teeth, I hate doing it but when others try she's much calmer (tell she gets used to them)

B) She gets sick every week so it's not like it's super hygienic at nursery anyway 🤷‍♀️

C) She makes us sick every week so not sharing toothpaste isn't saving us from anything

Do you not kiss you partner or your kids? Of course the mouth is full of germs!
None of us have herpes. But a number of the kids at nursery probably do. I’m not keen on my DC catching a lifelong incurable disease at age 3.

I'm in Scotland and it was done here for years, seems to be another thing that's stopped with covid though.

Apparently the rate of dental extractions for childrens teeth really has gone down since it was introduced.

@Pinkpepper79

We all have our own toothpaste in my house. It is well documented that the mouth is full of bacteria. I am shocked that people all share 🤯🤢

So you never kiss your partner I presume?

@Pinkpepper79

Rheumatoid arthritis and pneumonia are just two diseases that have been linked to gum disease.

According to a new study published in the journal Science Advances, bacteria normally present in the mouth can also release toxins that make their way into the brain. Once there, they may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.

One known organism with the ability to cause harm in other parts of the body is Porphyromonas gingivalis, or Pg.

“Pg is full of surprises and deserves far more attention than it gets,” said Jan Potempa, PhD, DSc, a professor at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry, head of the department of microbiology at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, and a researcher for the study. “It’s a true gang leader converting good microbes into bad ones.”

Depending on where in the body it decides to go, Pg has been linked to a number of serious health issues, including pneumoniaTrusted Source, rheumatoid arthritisTrusted Source, heart diseaseTrusted Source, hepatitis, and esophageal cancer.
The mouth is really not a pleasant place hence why you should always seek medical advice if your child is bitten and the skin is broken

It's probably good that they're focussing on oral health and tooth brushing then

The toothpaste is squeezed onto little squares of paper towel which the children then dip their brushes in. No sharing toothpaste tubes involved.

@Streamingbannersofdawn
Suggestions have been role play.
Tooth brushing packs from dental nurses. NHS provide free to many centres.
Healthy eating and habits.
Education eaflets on how when why.
Short sessions with parents and dental nurse visiting.
Tooth brush songs.
Promoting moving to cups away from bottles and dummy.
Water and milk

Oh dear, this really isn't something to panic about. As for hygiene goodness spend a day watching a group of toddlers and teeth brushing and storage of brushes is the least of your problems.

[quote jannier]@rantymcrantface66
Some posts have said it's ticked the requirement off the list becouse they brush the teeth.....it hasn't they need to show that they are promoting current guidence in England it is clearly stated current dental advice is to brush twice daily first and last thing. At least 20 minutes after food including milk.....posters thinking they have ticked becouse they brush after a meal will not meet the guidence. So not a good reason to do it. You need to demonstrate techniques....so some brushing fine....but at least 20 minutes after.....education and information sharing to parents, food and dental visits.
You also have to be aware of the dangers of over brushing. Scotland has particular problems with dental hygiene so special measures were put in.
All I'm saying is brushing teeth does not meet the ofsted requirement they do not want you to do that thinking you've ticked it off

I'm also saying parents don't have to give permission becouse many seem to think they do.....its an intimate procedure like nit inspections you need permission to do it.[/quote]
Ok so the posters don't know there is more to it (or maybe they did but didn't feel the need to list every last bit where it's not really needed) but they aren't the ones delivering the initiative so they don't need more training. There's nothing to suggest OP's nursery are delivering it wrongly and don't already know what they need to do to 'tick the box'.

We all have our own toothpaste in my house. It is well documented that the mouth is full of bacteria. I am shocked that people all share 🤯🤢

I’ve shared toothpaste with my whole family for years, I’m yet to catch anything from that. Do you also not share cups, water bottles when out and about, do you not kiss your children or partner? That involves sharing the bacteria in your mouth. Do/did you religiously wash your mouth after kissing your partner/ex?

I didn’t grow up in the UK and we had tooth brushing throughout nursery primary school. I never caught anything from occasionally touching the toothpaste tub my friend used just before me.

As for the ‘nice activity to share’, you can still brush their teeth after breakfast and dinner. It’s just one of the 3 daily brushings that will be done at nursery.

@rantymcrantface66 what do you mean they are not delivering the initiative? A nursery practitioner or childminder talking to children, setting up activities, brushing teeth is delivering the initiative and should totally understand the requirements to do so. They should also understand the requirements of the EYFS and will potentially be asked about it by ofsted if witnessed doing the activity and by their assesors when doing their training. Brushing teeth is not sufficient to tick the box.

@jannier I mean the posters saying it's ticking the boxes aren't delivering the initiative, therefore do not need to know the ins and outs. That they don't, doesn't mean the nursery staff in question need trained further which is what you were suggesting. All they were saying is that it's likely linked to the new curriculum expectation - which it may or may not be seeing many nurseries have been doing this anyway for years. It's

@Pinkpepper79

Does your child clean their teeth at nursery? As of September my child's nursery is going to be cleaning their teeth. Surely that is my responsibility as a parent. Teeth cleaning is a little activity I like to do an make it fun. I don't want a paid member of staff taking on that role. There is no opt out option. New government guidelines or something

My nursery does this. It’s a government scheme launched because most parents apparently don’t start to brush kids teeth until 3 and by then there is a lot of decay.

It just gets kids used to a toothbrush. It’s definitely no substitute for morning/evening brushing; but it’s better than nothing for kids who can’t do it at home.

Dear God OP seriously???!! If you are so precious about anybody other than yourself doing something for your DC then dont send them to Nursery.

Bottom line - you either trust the staff to know their job and take care of your child, or you don't.

Find something worth worrying about if worry you must.

What if nursery provide the wrong toothbrush? 😂😂😂

Well your child will be irrevocably broken and you will have to make a new one

I'd love this to be introduced at my dd's nursery she hates brushing her teeth and it's a daily battle that might be eased if she saw all her friends doing theirs at the same time!