Family Health

Support for Families in NW London Around Oral Health

Sharon Hello, we are the Oral Health Promotion team of North West (NW) London. Our vision is that every child is given the best start in life and the opportunity to grow up free from dental decay.

Tooth decay is largely preventable yet it remains serious problem. We aim to improve the oral health of all children in NW London and reduce the oral health gap for disadvantaged children, as NW London is the most dentally deprived area in London.

According to latest statistics taken from the 5 year old dental survey, Harrow has the highest rates of tooth decay in children, above all other London Boroughs followed by Brent. This data highlighted that 42.4% of 5 year olds living in Harrow and 40.1% in Brent have dental decay, compared to England which is 23.4%. Our role is to increase awareness of the importance of maintaining oral health and support families by providing the key oral health messages.

Our Oral Health Promoters work with the community to create environments that promote good oral health from an early age, including: supporting a number of education (early years and school) Louise settings to promote good oral health, such as the supervised tooth-brushing programme. We work in partnership with other healthcare providers to enable us to reach out and engage with the whole community.

When to brush my child’s teeth?

Children’s teeth should be brushed last thing at night before bed time and on at least one other occasion for at least 2 minutes.

As more teeth come through, it is important to develop a system of brushing that ensures that all surfaces of the teeth are brushed.

Assist tooth brushing until about 7 years of age as by then their coordination will be fully developed and they will be able to brush properly.

Children should be encouraged to do some of the brushing themselves so that they develop routine and tooth brushing skills. Remember to praise and encourage your child (use a sticker chart).

Which toothbrush?

Use a small soft headed toothbrush.

BEGINNERS SPECIAL OFFER 4 WEEKS FREE

Classes held Every Thursday at 5.00pm Preston Park Primary School, College Road, Wembley, HA9 8RJ Every Saturday at 9.00am Harrow High School, Gayton Road, Harrow, HA1 2JG

For more information please contact us on 07739572487 patel.karate@icloud.com

Every Saturday at 2.00pm

St Helens School

Green Lane, Northwood, HA6 1AF www.tiskakarate-harrow.co.uk www.tiskakarate-nortwood.co.uk www.tiskakarate-wembley.co.uk Erinna

Which toothpaste?

For children aged three years and above, use a pea-sized blob amount of toothpaste containing at least 1000 - 1500 ppm (parts per million) fluoride. Children under 3 a smear of toothpaste containing 1,000ppm fluoride.

Don’t rinse your mouth immediately after brushing teeth as rinsing washes the protective fluoride left behind by brushing. How often should I see the dentist?

Dental check-ups for children are free under the NHS.

Visit your dentist as soon as baby’s first teeth appear in the mouth.

For more information contact 0203 316 8353 dentalreferral.whitthealth@nhs.net www.whittington.nhs.uk/oralhealth

FAMILY TOOTH BRUSHING SESSION

Join us on Saturday 19th December for an online family oral health session.

Saturday 19 December at 10am https://bit.ly/2Uw9Z2R Meeting ID: 817 7004 8424 Passcode: hTiM20 or Saturday 19 December at 11am https://bit.ly/3f1krsn Meeting ID: 817 7004 8424 Passcode: hTiM20

Calling all young Scientists!

Help us discover how babies & kids learn!

We ’ re recruiting infants from birth to school age to take part in fun studies at the Birkbeck Babylab in central London. Our prime location is easy to reach and we refund travel expenses. We also have online studies you can do from the comfort of home www.cbcd.bbk.ac.uk/online-studies

020 7631 6258 babylab@bbk.ac.uk www.cbcd.bbk.ac.uk

Should You Defer Your Child’s School Start?

By Claire Winter

Are summer-born children disadvantaged? Should you defer your child’s school start if they are summer-born? After all, your child may be nearly a year younger than their peers and, at ages 4 and 5, this amount of time can make a big difference to how ready a child is to embrace the school environment.

The topic has been hotly debated for years. Certainly, there are pros and cons, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

What is the compulsory school starting age?

By law, children in England have to start school in the September following their fourth birthday. Although most children start at this age, you are not legally compelled to start your child at school until they are of Compulsory School Age. This is a set point after their fifth birthday, as follows:

Children who turn 5 between 1 September and 31 December reach Compulsory School Age on 31 December. Children who turn 5 between 1 January and 31 March reach Compulsory School Age on 31 March. Children who turn 5 between 1 April and 31 August reach Compulsory School Age on 31 August. This means that children summer born children do not have to start school until the September after their fifth birthday, rather than being required to start school when they have literally just turned 4. Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland have different school starting ages.

How can I defer my child’s start at school?

Firstly, this requires approval from the admissions authority when you apply for a school place. If you delay school entry, your child will start their Reception year at age 5 and Year 1 at age 6. Another option is to apply for flexible attendance, where your child attends Reception on a part-time basis or their entry is staggered, going from part-time to full time over an agreed length of time.

If you request to delay your child’s school entry, bear in mind that the school at which your child is offered a place has the right to decide whether they can start in Reception a year late, or whether they go straight into Year 1 with their normal age group. This obviously has implications for your decision making process.

More info: www.gov.uk/government/publications/summerborn-children-school-admission