Report examining the experiences of dental visits by primary school age pupils in Barnsley

Healthwatch Barnsley engaged with five primary schools in the area and led a 45-minute session, to highlight the importance of dental hygiene and find out how much young people knew about looking after their teeth. They also asked children and young people about their experiences of visiting their dental practice.

The report found that 89% of young people knew how many times a day they should brush their teeth but 73% did not know how long they should brush their teeth for. Following the session, there was an increase in the number of young people giving correct responses to questions related to the number of times they should brush their teeth a day, how long they should brush for, how often they should visit the dentist and what was fluoride varnish. Three-fourth had visited the dentist in the past 6 months for regular check-ups and only 5 had never been to one. More children were unaware of the superheroes campaign, which was a Public Health initiative to encourage young children to take care of their teeth in the right way.

The report recommended for dentists to explain to young people what fluoride varnish was and how it helped protect the teeth at every application to refresh their knowledge. It also highlighted that as the superheroes campaign was not well known by the children and young people, an audit of where the posters and promotional materials were in the dental surgery would be useful.