Derbyshire dentist launches toothbrush project after finding a quarter of local children had no practitioner

A Derbyshire dentist is taking direct action on children’s oral health and NHS dental access, handing out toothbrushes in local schools after discovering that a quarter of children in his area had never registered with a dental practice.

Kirk Hallam-based Kev Chavda has handed out more than 6,000 toothbrushes across 35 primary schools and nurseries since January, after a pre-Christmas school visit revealed that a quarter of children in the area had never registered with a dental practice.

‘I was expecting a fairly standard oral health for children talk about brushing and sugar,’ he said. ‘What I found surprised me. When I asked who had a dentist, around a quarter of the children did not put their hands up. That was unexpected, especially as we are walking distance from the school and we accept NHS children. It made me realise that access and awareness are not the same thing.’

The response was immediate. Chavda spent the Christmas holidays, fitting the work around a one-year-old daughter, a three-year-old son, and full-time clinical work, developing a structured model from scratch. ‘It was just me, ChatGPT, and a lot of thinking,’ he said.

‘Over those two weeks I worked out the numbers, found suppliers, designed a logo, created the branding, ordered the first batch of toothbrushes, and set up the Instagram page.’

Oral health for children

Each visit follows a consistent format covering tooth decay, brushing technique, and the two-minute habit, with an interactive brushing game and an original song to reinforce the message at home. Every child receives a toothbrush, and the school receives a formal letter included in the parent newsletter, taking the prevention message directly to families.

The reaction has been immediate. At Scargill School, one of Chavda’s most recent visits, a pupil captured the moment simply: ‘Thanks to my mum for giving my friends a toothbrush’, the child’s mother having sponsored the brushes distributed to that school. A member of staff added that it was ‘a really valuable project and so important that children are taking care and looking after their teeth’.

The project is non-profit. The model works out at roughly 25 pence per toothbrush, meaning around £75 can fund a full school delivery of approximately 300 brushes.

Local businesses sponsor schools and are encouraged to make the delivery themselves, with the opportunity to take a photo with the headteacher and share it on social media.

Local businesses have contributed around £1,000 to date, and seven other dentists have bought personalised brushes to deliver in their own areas. Collectively, participating dentists have committed around 60,000 toothbrushes into schools.

Communities are not hard to reach

NHS dental access issues make the work increasingly urgent. Research by Healthwatch England found that private dental use among financially struggling households has nearly doubled since 2023, from 14% to 27%, as NHS provision remains out of reach for many.

People in deprived areas are almost twice as likely to report going private because they could not find an NHS dentist. At the GDC Network Leaders event in March, Deputy Chief Dental Officer for England Dr Rakhee Patel urged dental leaders to work harder to reach underserved communities.

Chavda’s view is straightforward. ‘It is not that communities are hard to reach,’ he said. ‘It is that systems have not reached them effectively. Dentistry has often waited for patients to come to the surgery. Going into schools changes that dynamic.’

For practices looking to get involved, Chavda recommends ordering around 1,500 brushes, enough for five schools, printed with the practice logo. He provides support on community launch, social media engagement, and delivering talks within a lunch break without sacrificing clinical time. Details are available via his Instagram page.

‘In 12 months I would like to be delivering at least 100,000 toothbrushes per year,’ he said. ‘The goal is to create a repeatable model that dentists in different towns can adopt so prevention becomes something we actively deliver, not just talk about.’

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