Funding secured

This funding will support a PhD post for a hygienist or dental therapist to develop a programme for dental nurses to support young, first time mothers in taking care of their children’s teeth.

The research will address the national crisis in children’s oral health, especially in communities of social deprivation. Dental disease is common in children and the most common reason for children to be admitted to hospital. Children living in the most socially deprived areas are at highest risk and the most likely to have their teeth removed under general anaesthetic.

The research team is working with the Family Nurse Partnership in Plymouth, which works with first time young mothers. Family nurses offer intensive, structured home visits by specially trained nurses, from early pregnancy until the child is two. The programme has worked with more than 200 families in Plymouth since it started in 2008.

The study will develop a way of working that links a dental nurse to the young mothers in the Family Nurse Partnership Programme, offering them support, encouragement and the necessary materials to protect their child’s newly emerging teeth.