Dental health is important for general health and wellbeing. Poor dental health can affect a person's ability to eat, speak, smile and socialise normally. This could be due to pain or social embarrassment.
Diet, oral hygiene, smoking, alcohol, stress and trauma, many of the risk factors are the same as for many chronic conditions, such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Therefore interventions to improve oral health will also improve general health.
Front-line health and care staff have trusted relationships with patients, families and communities. For more information for to promote the benefits of good oral health, see the below resources:
Useful resources
- Public Health England: health matters child dental health, guidance to help you prevent tooth decay in children under 5, including links to e-learning.
- Children’s Oral Health: healthcare e-learning, aimed at parents, early years healthcare workers, teachers, nurses, GPs and the public.
- Oral health promotion session of the Healthy Child Programme (HCP), aims to enhance the knowledge and skills regarding oral health and the factors that predispose to poor oral health.
- Improving oral health in early years: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Pathways.
- PACEY’s oral health advice: includes factsheet for parents.
- PACEY’s nutrition spotlight, encouraging healthy eating habits.
- Delivering oral health from Public Health England, includes a quick guide to healthy mouths in children.
- Change4life children’s centre toolkit from Public Health England, for promoting healthy eating and dental health.
- Adult oral health guide that is part of ‘All Our Health’, a resource which helps health professionals prevent ill health and promote wellbeing, as part of their everyday practice. The information will help front-line health and care staff to make the most of their trusted relationships with patients, families and communities to promote the benefits of good oral health for adults.
- Child oral health guide that is part of ‘All Our Health’, a resource which helps health professionals prevent ill health and promote wellbeing, as part of their everyday practice. The information will help front-line health and care staff use their trusted relationships with patients, families and communities to promote the benefits of good oral health for children.
