Could teeth-brushing help plug a gap in Scotland’s education standards?

“Poor oral health status is consistently associated with a higher prevalence of school-related issues and increased absenteeism…

“The relation between oral health and academic achievement involves multiple interconnected factors, including pain, discomfort and associated issues related to eating and sleeping, which can impair a child’s concentration and, subsequently, their academic performance, but also mediated by non-attendance”

This is an extract from a study conducted by Mariél de Aquino Goulart and colleagues from the University of Glasgow, setting the scene for a population-wide study linking economic inequality, school performance and oral health.

It’s a cross-sectional study, linking several national databases to analyse the oral health of ‘primary 1’ children across six different school years (2008-2017).

They looked at three oral health indicators: caries experience, Urgent Need of Dental Treatment (UNDT) and Dental Extractions under General Anaesthetic (DGA).

The study found that 33% of children had dental caries experience, contributing to a median of 16 part day absences. An increase from 11 for children without dental caries experience.

9% had UDNT, resulting in 19 part-day absences (up from 11 without). 2% had DGA, and 20 part-day absences (up from 12 without).

Crucially, records from 263,597 children showed that children in the 10% most deprived areas had nearly twice the burden of absences related to poor oral health compared with the 10% least deprived.

In other words, poor oral health is significantly associated with higher levels of school absence and poorer communities are suffering the most.

The lesson time lost is not negligible. This can translate into significant gaps in learning and social development. It is also an issue of fairness and opportunity.

The Scottish Government continues to support Scotland’s flagship ‘Childsmile Toothbrushing Programme,’ aiming to help children develop an important life skill at an early age. Around 90,000 nursery children and P1/P2 pupils take part in staff-supervised daily toothbrushing. Free toothbrushes and toothpaste are also sent home so families can continue the habits.

Public Health Minister Jenni Minto said:

“The programme offers universal oral health interventions, such as supervised toothbrushing and fluoride varnish application to children and young people in nurseries, early years schooling and dental practices.

“There are also targeted interventions for children living in the most deprived areas.

“The success of Childsmile is reflected in the latest official stats on child oral health which show that 73% of P1 children have no obvious tooth decay, compared to 58% in 2008.”

Click here to access the study.