A NATIONAL program of toothbrushing at schools and pre-schools will start next month in a bid to stop dental decay.
Three, four and five-year-olds will get free brushes and paste donated by Colgate for supervised sessions.
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Ministers say 600,000 children each year will benefit from the plan, and rates of decay will start to reduce within two years.
Dental problems are the main cause of hospital admissions for primary school children.
The plan will be aimed at the most deprived parts of England.
It will cost £11million this year to train teachers and staff, and pay for take-home kits, but ministers say it may save the NHS £34million over five years.
The policy was a Labour election manifesto pledge.
Health minister Stephen Kinnock said: “It’s shocking a third of five-year-olds in deprived areas have tooth decay.
“We’re delivering supervised toothbrushing to those most in need.”
Eddie Crouch at the British Dental Association said: “This will save children from pain and our NHS a fortune.”
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Figures show some schools already offer supervised toothbrushing to 143,000 kids across the country.
But Paul Whiteman, at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “We must be careful not to shift a parental responsibility on to the shoulders of schools.
“There is only so much we can expect teachers and school staff to do.”
The Government is under pressure to fix NHS dentistry.
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