A landmark service by The Department of Health (DoH) could enable children based in West London to buy a fluoride varnish at their local supermarket .
Health Minister Ann Keen has announced plans to post an extended-duty dental nurse at an Asda branch in Hounslow – which suffers from worse than average rates of tooth decay among children – as a way of boosting oral health among hard-to-reach families.
The radical new service, the first of its kind in England, will be offered free of charge to children up to the age of 18.
Fluoride varnish is a highly concentrated form of fluoride that is usually applied to the teeth with a brush and is used to remineralise the tooth surface and help prevent tooth decay .
The varnish reportedly costs around 30p per application, with reapplications advised three or four times a year for the youngest children.
Developed in conjunction with Asda, Hounslow Primary Care Trust and the British Dental Association (BDA), the pilot scheme will initially be launched from a pharmacy within the Hounslow Asda store .
However, the DoH said the service could be extended to other areas in the near future if the initial trial proves a success.
Labour MP Ms Keen said the scheme had yet to be finalised but "further discussions" were scheduled and she expected it to be "up and running" later this year.
"This is about prevention in all areas, and in particular for those people who maybe would not normally look at prevention," the minister said.
"It is about change and innovation and I am always looking for new ways for people to access healthcare within the community," she added.
According to Department of Health figures for 2007, the average number of decayed, missing and filled teeth in children aged five in Hounslow was 2.1, compared with an average of 1.5 for the rest of the nation.
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Asda To Trial Kids Fluoride Varnish
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