Catherine Waldron

Introduction Many pre‐school children in Ireland experience dental caries in their primary dentition. The rate of dental caries varies, impacted by the levels of fluoride in the water and socio‐economic status (18%–55%). This article reports on a novel initiative in which dental hygienists (DHs) supported pre‐school teachers (PST) to implement a toothbrushing programme for children attending pre‐schools in Ireland. It was hypothesised that such an initiative would create an environment in pre‐schools that would improve the oral hygiene skills and habits of children and increase the oral health knowledge of parents and PST. Methods A storybook (Brushing our teeth with Brush Bunny), a toothbrushing song and information leaflets were developed. DHs were provided with specific online training for the programme. The resources, including toothbrushes and toothpastes, were delivered to the pre‐schools and training was provided by the DHs to the PST to prepare for and implement daily toothbrushing sessions. The standards for the toothbrushing programme followed the ChildSmile© programme. Before and after questionnaires gathered quantitative and qualitative data from the parents and PST. The toothbrushing programme was implemented by PST for 3 months. Results Sixteen DHs and PST from 19 classes in 17 schools successfully delivered the programme to 331 children, and 227 parents completed both pre‐ and post‐questionnaires. Poor baseline knowledge in relation to the ‘spit don't rinse’ message increased from 29% to 48%. However, there was no improvement in awareness of the benefits of fluoride in toothpaste. Awareness of the best brushing routines in relation to frequency and length was good at baseline and remained so after the programme. Most parents (90%) felt the programme had impacted positively on their child's toothbrushing routine. Conclusion This experimental study suggests that the logistics of implementing a daily toothbrushing routine to improve the oral hygiene skills and habits of pre‐school children are possible in Irish pre‐school settings when PST are supported by DHs. Parents’ oral health knowledge may be improved, and it may impact positively on the children's daily toothbrushing routine. A larger study is required to confirm these findings.