A national survey of supervised toothbrushing programmes in England

This is the latest version of this eprint.

Abstract

Introduction

Supervised toothbrushing programmes (STPs) are a cost-effective public health intervention, reducing tooth decay and health inequalities in children. However, the uptake of STPs in England is unknown. This study aimed to establish the current provision of STPs across England and summarise the barriers and facilitators to their implementation.

Methods

An online survey was sent to dental public health consultants, local authority (LA) oral health leads, and public health practitioners across England. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Barriers and facilitators were analysed using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research.

Results

Information was received for 141 LAs across England. Approximately half implemented an STP (n = 68/141). Most STPs were commissioned by LAs (n = 44/68) and adopted a targeted approach (n = 54/68). Barriers to implementation were: 1) acquiring funding; 2) poor communication and engagement between LAs, oral health providers and settings; 3) oral health not a priority; 4) logistically challenging to implement; and 5) lack of capacity. Facilitators were: 1) an integrated and mandated public health approach; 2) collaboration and ongoing support between LAs, oral health providers, and settings; 3) clarity of guidance; 4) flexible approach to delivery; 5) adequate available resources; and 6) ownership and empowerment of setting staff.

Conclusion

The current provision of STPs is varied, and although there are challenges to their implementation, there are also areas of good practice where these challenges have been overcome.

Metadata

Authors/Creators:

Gray-Burrows, K.A.
Day, P.F.
El-Yousfi, S.
Lloyd, E.
Hudson, K.
Marshman, Z. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0943-9637

© 2023 The Author(s). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.

Keywords:

Biomedical and Clinical Sciences; Dentistry; Dental/Oral and Craniofacial Disease; Prevention; Health and social care services research; Organisation and delivery of services; Oral and gastrointestinal

Dates: