Teaching Teeth Brushing in School?
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Should teeth brushing be taught in schools?
Labour has proposed introducing teacher-led tooth brushing lessons in primary schools to alleviate pressure on NHS dentists. Is this initiative beneficial, or is it unfair to burden teachers with this responsibility?
No it should be taught at home but I can understand why they want to say it in school let's be fair most kids just think it's their parents going on
Leannexxx What about those that don't have the best home life? It would help those I think.
SamGoodship I agree with you but if they didn't have the best home life isn't down to the school to get someone involved? Even tho I believe teachers have to much of a say
Nooo brushing teeth is part of daily routine AT home along with toilet training & using cutlery
Teachers should be there to teach subjects NOT parent the children ..
I thought I heard yesterday it is definitely going ahead, lots of plans about it prior to election. I suppose what's done is done, it should be the parent's job but now more will have the excuse not to do it before school. So many kids going to hospital for tooth problems so I can see why they are doing it.
Jackscot What about those that don't have the greatest home life? I think it's more aimed at helping those who are disadvantaged.
Generally i would expect this to be taught by the parents at home and it’s a little worrying that over the last few weeks there’s been a suggestion that teachers should be changing children’s nappies (a different topic posted had an article about it) or teaching them to brush their teeth.
If it does free up a lot of the dentist’s time though i can see the logic behind it
Needs to be taught at home labour needs to get more NHS dentist available in all areas
The next five years (if we make it that far) is gonna be an absolute thrill ride. Strap in, it's gonna get oh so bumpy.
In the 1980s we had a school dentist who would have a look at everybodys teeth and advise to brush more at home so wish I was shown in school.
The National Curriculum at Foundation Stage has a section called Personal, Social and Emotional development and this is where personal care e.g. teeth cleaning is probably already taught through games and play. Actual teeth cleaning is a personal thing and should be done at home an advice leaflet sent to parents.
Surely this is all part and parcel of bringing your own children up and not another job that needs to be done by Teachers.
TiaTia What about those that don't have the greatest home life? I think it's more aimed at helping those who are disadvantaged.
SamGoodship What's your thoughts regarding this new proposal? I just feel there seems to be more and more getting put onto the teachers these days and going by most of the comments on here agreeing that toothbrushing should be taught at home.
No,no,no. It’s up to parents to teach children things like this, NOT teachers. What is going on in this country? its almost like parents dont have to bother teaching their own children anything. No one seems to want to take responsibility for anything any more, people always blame someone else. If you can’t be bothered to teach your own children how to clean their teeth then you shouldn’t have had children.
Teeth brushing should be taught at home but I do remember from early school days a dentist visited once a year but I had my own dentist so I didn’t have to queue up like others did. Also another day we were given disclosure tablets that showed up dye on any plaque but that was about it. I don’t think there needs to be any more involvement than that.
How is a teacher supposed to supervise and teach a class of 30 children to brush their teeth. Seems a waste of classroom time, surely it should be down to the parents to teach this basic life skill.
Definitely not up to teachers to show kid's how to brush their teeth. That's the parents job.
I remember being taught in nursery, although not sure how seriousLy we took it at that age. They gave us a strawberry flavoured tablet that dissolved into a paste
If they keep burdening teachers with what I consider to be normal hygiene that should be taught at home then they won't have any time left to teach the three Rs.
tumblespots I work in a school. We don't have the time. Where I am we have teeth brushing. Some teachers have binned it off to concentrate on things like the 3 r. It's ridiculous theres parents that are making schools do everything. We get kids thst parents haven't toilet trained. We do it at school to find out parents stick the kid in nappies at home. Which explains why the kid isn't getting the hang of toilet training
Jerseydrew You have to ask what has happened to parents who actively decide not to actually parent their children? What sort of society do we live in today that allows this to happen? It is so wrong.
tumblespots don't I know it. It's awful what mess we are in. I feel for the kids and where they are going to end up. They will expect everything to be handed to them as that's what's happening now in schools. Us staff can only do so much. We are at breaking point
It's ridiculous we do it where I am. We don't have the time to do this in classes and what should be a lesson becomes parents Not doing it at all. What's crazy is there's parents that don't put Toothpaste on brushes because the child as said once they didn't like the taste so don't use it. These parents need to parent
Jerseydrew my son didn't like the taste of toothpaste. We did have a non foaming, non tasting one from the dentist which we used. Now we just use the normal one and tell him he has to have it. It took a while but now he just gets on with it and doesn't complain about the toothpaste. They don't need to like it, but they need to use it and as a parent it is your job to make sure that they are doing it properly.
Absolute madness 
I just don't know what is going on in this day and age. If parents taught their children like they should Dentist wouldn't be so pressured in this area as children should be able to clean they teeth by the time they start school !!
They should have learnt this before starting school. Another thing they want to dump on teachers, first potty training now this what next, how to dress!
eyeballkerry we get that as well. I've 9 year olds that can't dress themselves because they are dressed by parents. I've one kid that tries it on with those who don't know he is more then capable. But that's cos he is cheeky and hilarious. He is like oh no when I catch him asking cos I call him out on it. I give him credit for trying it on though. Good job he is brilliant
Jerseydrew My daughter in law is a TA and she is always telling me funny stories about the children. Amazing how their minds work at such a young age.
My sons nursery taught teeth brushing. They did it through games etc and had someone come in to talk to them every so often about teeth brushing. They each had their own toothbrush at nursery. It was part of the curriculum on keeping themselves healthy. We taught our son how to brush his teeth at home but it was useful to him to have it done at nursery too as it took him a while to get used to the feel and taste due to sensory issues.
However it should not be taught in schools as they should already know how to brush their teeth in P1. Certainly have visitors to talk to them, encourage etc but teachers have enough to do.
What has this got to do with schools, it's the parents responsibility , people will asking to read their kids bedtime stories soon , ridiculous
Maybe the school nurse could just take the assembly to show the children. I think teachers have enough to do.
I think it's a good idea, my kids had a lesson on oral hygiene and each child received a little dental care kit, toothbrush, toothpaste and a little booklet. It was just one little lesson, that could be of benefit to many x
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