Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board is offering up to £20,000 of funding over the next six months for dentists to visit schools and teach children how to keep their teeth healthy.
It follows a damning report earlier this year which found Norfolk five-year-olds have the worst rates of tooth decay in the east of England.
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Under the initiative, dentists will be able to work with schools to offer advice to young people on how to brush their teeth properly and offer other oral health advice.
West Norfolk councilor Alexandra Kemp, who has campaigned for dental improvements in the region, said: “This is great news as there is a huge need for this to be taught in schools.
“We need to understand this problem and children’s dental health needs to be a priority.”
READ MORE: A quarter of the region’s children suffer from tooth decay, grim figures show
Norfolk County Council previously provided a school dental service but this has been withdrawn in recent years due to a fall in funding.
The lack of NHS dentists in the county has been a long-standing problem, making it difficult for parents to take their children to health experts.
According to Mrs Kemp, the cost of living crisis has led to more parents turning to food banks for toothpaste and toothbrushes for children in King’s Lynn – one of the worst tooth decay areas in the county.
A spokesman for NHS Norfolk and Waveney said: “Improving the oral health of children and young people is an important consideration with our recently published short-term dental plan and will be a key priority in the ICB’s long-term strategy to improve patient access to dentistry. services and improving oral health outcomes for our local population.”
