Dental Playbox Project
At Action for Sick Children we believe that children (and their parents) are much less anxious about visits to the hospital, doctor or dentist if they are fully informed in advance of any treatments they may be involved in.
Dental healthcare is just as important as any other healthcare and in fact, good dental care helps to maintain healthy lives. The latest project to be initiated by Action for Sick Children is the use of "Dental Play boxes". These boxes help children to learn through play how to understand dental treatment and encourage them to co-operate with the dentist, which in turn makes a visit to the dentist a much less scary experience. This scheme is already very successful in Scotland and has recently been launched in England.
Dental Health Care is Child’s Play.
A project to promote children’s oral health care through play has been expanded by the charity Action for Sick Children. The North West has particularly bad statistics with regard to dental care. Many children go through the unnecessary pain of having decayed milk teeth extracted. The Dental Play Box scheme supports the Early Years Foundation Stage and involves a visit from a play facilitator. It is a free service currently available to schools, clubs, nurseries and other pre-school settings in the Greater Manchester area. The main aim of the visit is to explore through play the importance of looking after your teeth and visiting the dentist. A box of resources, which include role play uniforms, hand puppets, games, stories, toothbrushes and a Teachers Pack is left for a week after the session for the children to play with.
To arrange a visit contact the Dental Playbox team at dpbox@actionforsickchildren.org or phone 01663 763004.
Feedback from recent 2010 Dental Playbox Sessions
A young boy was overheard whilst enjoying his Dental Playbox role-play session ' I'm here to help you so you don't get hurting teeth. It won't hurt at all.'
One boy shared with his group' I've been in the dentist's chair, its like a slide, scary but then nice.'
Another boy shared that ' I cried when I went to the dentist, so he couldn't check my teeth.' He did open his mouth wide for Lucy the puppet during the play session and he became very interested in the session and told the facilitator that 'next time I go (to the dentist), I'll only be a little bit scared.'
One girl said that she only brushes teeth in the morning, not at night. She said that she would show her daddy her sticker and leaflet when she got home. The facilitator observed that her front teeth were clearly decayed.
A father phoned the office to ask about the Dental Playbox session that his son had just attended. He said that his son was full of life rushing after the session and was really pleased with his sticker. His father wanted advice on how he could register with a local dentist as they had just moved to the area.
Kiddiwinks Day Nursery report that ' all of the parents have enjoyed the visit, and it has made some parents make dental appointments for their child.'
Kids Unlimited, Didsbury report that 'children have been talking to their parents about cleaning teeth.'
Kids Unlimited, Total Fitness report that ' parents found it very helpful as some were having problems with brushing their children's teeth at home!'
Westwood Pre-School, Leek report that ' one little girl sat on the dentist's chair with her mouth open for the first time.'
Do you like going to the dentist?
We would love to hear your stories about what happens when you go to the dentist. Please go to our contact us page and tell us your experiences.
A visit to the dentist
