Childsmile was established to improve the oral health of children in Scotland and Professor Macpherson is a Co-Director. Having outlined their achievements, she made it clear that no one was resting on their laurels. She said: “A strategic review of Childsmile is underway to further refine the programme with a particular focus on reducing health inequalities.”
Professor Macpherson told the press conference, jointly hosted by Colgate and the International Association of Paediatric Dentistry (IAPD) 2015, that they were committed to a wide, multi-disciplinary approach for child dental health improvement. “What’s needed now is further work at national and local community levels to support families and reduce the inequalities both in dental health and access to dental services.”
Childsmile has involved a change to the primary care dental contract in Scotland to promote preventive care for children, provide support to families via community-based support workers, and tooth brushing programmes across Scotland in nursery and primary schools. Additionally, fluoride varnish has been successfully used as part of the programme - with over 300,000 applications of varnish in the past year.
But more could be done and the results of new research were presented that can help us to understand when and why general dental practitioners (GDPs) in Scotland apply fluoride varnish. Professor Macpherson said that factors influencing GDPs included:
- knowledge of the guidance on fluoride varnish
- awareness of parents’ views and desires for varnish to be applied to their children’s teeth
- belief that it’s an important contribution to their role in preventive oral care
Also speaking at the press conference was Professor Richard Watt, from University College London, who presented new results from Scotland on putting cavities prevention recommendations into practice.
Colgate announced the finalists and winner of its Bright Smiles, Bright Futures (BSBF) awards which are conducted with IAPD. The overall winner was Francisco Ramos Gomez from the USA, for the programme: “Infant Oral Care Programme and Protocol (IOCP) Based on the Mother and Youth Access (MAYA) and the Glass Ionomer Sealant and Fluoride Varnish (GIFVT) Clinical Trials.
The press conference was chaired jointly by the President of the IAPD, Professor Jorge Castillo and the President of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD), Janice Fearne. The chairman of the Congress, Professor Richard Welbury, welcomed attendees and speakers.