The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD), the national society dedicated to improving the oral health of children from birth to 16, welcomes today’s news of the good progress being made to bring-to-life the supervised toothbrushing pledge made in March 2025. The Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) initiative to fund a targeted supervised toothbrushing scheme for three, four and five year olds in England giving children in early years settings toothbrushing support, along with toothbrushes and toothpastes to take home, is now in-action, and the results so far are significant.

This September, BSPD’s Annual Scientific Conference is to be hosted in London where the Society will welcome, Dr Urshla Devalia as President for 2025-26. Dr Devalia will be taking over the reins from Dr Shannu Bhatia during the conference, which this year has the theme of “Foundations for the Future”. London is Dr Devalia’s home-city and as BSPD members convene at the Royal College of Music from 11th to 12th September, we will hear from our new President about her drive to integrate mouth care into the healthcare plans for children and young people when they stay in hospital.

The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD), the organisation of dentists and their teams who care for children’s teeth and gums, have responded to the increase in children in the UK diagnosed with Special Educational Needs (SEN). The Society has developed two leaflets specifically tailored to support the oral health of children and young people (CYP) with SEN, including those diagnosed as neurodivergent. This month a new leaflet has been added to BSPD’s parent information resource library providing guidance on how to include children with SEN in the national Supervised Toothbrushing Programme launched in early years settings by the Government in March. Earlier this year, BSPD published a leaflet providing oral health advice for parents and carers of autistic CYP on how to look after their teeth at home.

The invitation to submit professional expertise to the NHS dentistry consultation just announced, is not only welcomed by the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD), but is seen by the Society as an essential next step in the process. BSPD supports the focus on prevention and notes the incentives to support patients with high levels of decay in the proposals. However, BSPD cautions that the ultimate need is long-term contract reform to give children and young people (CYP) the required focus to turn the nation’s oral health around for the future.

The winners of the 2025 Max Horsnell Travel Award and National Student Elective prize are announced today by the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD). These annual awards recognise vision and endeavour in the field of paediatric dentistry. These BSPD prizes are awarded each year following a judging process for both that is overseen by three members of BSPD’s Conference Abstract and Prize Committee (CAPC).