This e-learning programme provides information and advice about children’s oral health. It is aimed at parents, expectant mothers, early years healthcare workers, teachers, nurses, GPs and the public.

Oral health is an important part of every child’s wellbeing. It impacts on the ability for children to eat and sleep, to socialise with confidence and to concentrate at school. However, many children experience problems with their oral health. Tooth decay affects around a quarter of five-year olds in England (view document), and it is also the leading cause of hospital admissions for five to nine-year-olds by some distance. Many children who go to hospital because of tooth decay need to have teeth removed under general anaesthetic. This is despite the fact that tooth decay is almost entirely preventable.

This programme will help you to support the children you care for to maintain good oral health. It covers the main causes of tooth decay and simple actions that can be taken to prevent the problem. It also explains when a child’s primary (baby) and adult (permanent) teeth start to appear, and what you should do if a tooth is knocked out. By the end of the session users will have developed their knowledge of oral health and be more confident in providing children’s oral health advice.

The programme consists of one e-learning session that will take about 20 minutes to complete. As you work through the session you will be asked a number of self-assessment questions which enable you to check your understanding of the key points.

Further e-learning sessions will be added in 2019 to support the understanding of children’s oral health advice for the health and social care workforce.