Earlier this year Health Secretary Alan Johnson called for fluoride to be added to England's water supplies in the hope of reducing tooth decay among some of society's poorest and most vulnerable.  The  link between less well-off families and tooth decay in their children is very clear, but could be significantly reduced if those looking after babies and young children took a few small steps to help keep their teeth and gums healthy.

In 2006 Dental Surgeon Graham Wilding was so horrified by the number of youngsters he was seeing with tooth decay caused by fizzy drinks and sweet foods at his practice in Lancashire, a few years ago he launched the 'Stop the Rot' Campaign with the National Day Nurseries Association, who look after well over one million children under five in the UK in centres across the UK.With Graham's help they drew up a plan of action which their managers agreed to implement in an effort to prevent the unnecessary pain and suffering of poor oral hygiene.

As part of the campaign day nurseries must agree to make these three 'smile promises'.

Sack the sugar

Refined sugar (sucrose) causes tooth decay and the trouble is that it is used so much in food and drinks. Quite often if food and drinks packaging says 'carbohydrates' then the chances are it contains sucrose. When we rely so much on processed foods it is virtually impossible to totally avoid refined sugar.

Beat the sweets

The most damaging type of sugar is the sticky kind which stays in the mouth the longest. Sticky sugar is commonly found in sweets and toffees. Children become addicted to sweets not just because they taste sweet but also because they are associated with comfort and reward. They also get addicted to the 'high' of the energy rush that can cause disruptive behavioural problems. Controlling sugar and sweets at nursery can help in maintaining order.

Get brushing

The earlier good brushing habits can be put in place the better. Not all nurseries and pre-school settings are ideal for tooth brushing but if we can teach children the importance of brushing for 2 minutes, twice a day, they are more likely to carry on as they get older. So what can we do?

1. Brushing morning and night is key, but also try and make arrangements so that children can brush their teeth once a day at nursery too. Remember to wait 30 minutes after food and drink before letting the children brush. Tooth enamel is soft during this period and can be worn away by brushing.
2. If you can not arrange for children to brush at their nursery every day use Smiley's fun activity packs to teach them great brushing habits.
3. Play Smiley's interactive game on www.oralb.com/uk to teach children the importance of brushing twice a day for 2 minutes.

See http://www.stop-the-rot.co.uk/ for more information