Oral Health

Oral health messages for children and young people should be included in learning related to nutrition. The key messages are:  

• Brush teeth for 2 minutes twice per day using toothpaste containing 1450ppm fluoride. Spit and DON’T rinse.  
• Restrict sugary food and drinks to mealtimes and choose sugar free medication when possible  
• Attend the dentist regularly
• Participate in Oral Health programmes such as Childsmile 

Everyone in Scotland is entitled to a free dental check-up. Children and young people should attend the dentist regularly and get treatment when required. Treatment is free for children and adults under age 26, people on certain benefits, pregnant women and for 12 months after giving birth. You can contact your dentist if you feel pain or discomfort or call NHS 24 on 111.

Childsmile is a national programme designed to reduce oral health inequalities and improve children’s oral health. It is funded by Scottish Government and in Glasgow City, the implementation is supported through the Oral Health Directorate and locality-based Health Improvement Teams. 

For more information on Childsmile click here

Please note: In August 2025 the Childsmile Executive Team informed NHS Boards of changes in the strategic direction of the Childsmile Programme. Research indicates fluoride varnish application in a nursery setting is not as effective as other methods.  From August 2025 no new consents were processed and only children with current valid consents will receive fluoride application within Early Years settings.  From August 2026, the Childsmile team will discontinue the application of fluoride varnish in early years' services.  

You can find more information on Early Years and Nutrition on the HWB Website here

Childsmile Literature

There are audio versions of the Childsmile literature to help you look after your child’s teeth:

Childsmile Community and Practice click here  

Drinks for babies and young children click here  

Snack ideas for children click here

There are also printable versions of the above leaflets.  These are available in various languages. 

For more information click here

Childsmile Toothbrushing Standards 

Childsmile is a national toothbrushing programme designed to improve the oral health of children in Scotland and reduce inequalities both in dental health and access to dental services. The national standards for toothbrushing in education establishments set out the guidance for implementing the toothbrushing programme.  For more information click here

Childsmile Fluoride Varnish Acclimatisation

There is a suite of supporting literature and videos to support fluoride varnishing visits to Early Years establishments.

The digital SWAY book can be accessed by scanning the QR code below: 

The biteable video can be accessed by clicking here

For effective Use of FV Resources click here

For Curriculum Plan click here

Childsmile

Oral Health Foundation

Click here to learn more about your oral health from the Oral Health Foundation.

NHS Inform

Find information on keeping your child's teeth healthy can be found on NHS Inform by clicking here

The Glasgow City HSCP Health Improvement Team have pulled together a list of key strategy and policy links regarding Oral Health and Early Years. These documents should be used to inform planning and delivery within your establishment and school community.

These documents are a useful resource to build a knowledge base around current priorities and work around Oral Health and Early Years in Glasgow and across Scotland. Please note that clicking on these documents will take you to external websites.

NHS dental data monitoring report 2025  

National dental inspection programme (2025)

No Health without Oral Health (2019) 

Oral Health Improvement Plan (2018)