Beat the holiday boredom with the oral health improvement team
Parents and children in Barnsley are invited to join activities at a special half term holiday event provided by local health services.
The event in Wombwell is being organised by the Barnsley Oral Health Promotion Team, which works with community services provided by South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, to help promote the importance of good dental hygiene in early years and speech and language development
The oral health team will be joined by school nurses and community nursery nurses to show children how to get a winning smile and develop their speech through books and reading. There will also be information about healthy eating, the reading scheme Bookstart and advice from the Family Information Service.
As well as information there will lots of free gifts for children to take away including a free Chatterbox pack and various activities to take part in such as den building, games and crafts and story time with Bookstart Bear.
The free event will take place at The Salvation Army, Wombwell Corps, 21 Park Street, Wombwell on Friday 15th February between 1pm and 4pm.
Jillian O’Brien, oral health improvement worker said, “This event is great way for us to raise awareness of the importance of good oral hygiene at the same time as offering families some fun holiday activities. Good oral hygiene is particularly important in this region as there is a low regular dental service attendance in many areas. Our team works to improve oral health and make people aware of the importance of keeping their teeth clean by brushing with fluoride toothpaste and having regular dentist appointments. We hope to reinforce the message to children and their families at this event and help tackle the poor dental hygiene improving oral health in Barnsley one smile at a time!”
Dental health in Barnsley continues to cause concern with 58% of five year olds having experienced dental decay compared with the national average of 40%. Figures also show that in areas of deprivation five year olds are four times more likely to suffer decay than other areas.
