Child education


A project using toys, as well as other resources, is helping improve the dental health of children, writes Catherine Nelson


Above: play resources help children better understand dental treatment


Playschool S


pecial Smiles is an innovative play-based dental health project which the charity, Action for Sick Children (Scotland), (ASC(S)), has been running for


the last two years in special schools throughout Tayside. The purpose of the Special Smiles Dental Project (SSDP) is to improve the dental health and therefore overall quality of life of children and young people with a range of severe and complex additional support needs, by promoting learning through play using dental play resources.


Special Smiles is a development of the


Dental Playbox Project, which ASC(S) launched in 2003 as their response to the Scottish Executive’s paper – Towards Better Oral Health in Children 1


, a document which


highlighted the poor record of children’s oral health in Scotland, namely: • 55 per cent of all five-year-olds had dental disease


• by age 14, 68 per cent of children had dental disease in adult teeth


• more than a quarter of a million teeth were extracted from children each year


• tooth extraction was the largest single reason for children receiving general anaesthesia in hospital.


The need for a co-ordinated approach


with key agencies and professionals work- ing in partnership to tackle dental decay was also highlighted, giving rise to the idea of Dental Playboxes, based on the highly successful Hospital Playbox scheme run by ASC(S) for many years. Play is a child’s language, but more than


that, research shows that play reduces anx- iety, facilitates communication and speeds recovery and rehabilitation2


. ASC(S)


believes in the importance of adequate preparation for any form of treatment and


Continued » Scottish Dental magazine 33


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