New clinical standard for children and young people’s oral healthcare

The Office of the Chief Dental Officer has published a new clinical standard, Oral health and dental care for children and young people.

Developed in collaboration with the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry, the standard sets out national expectations for oral healthcare for children and young people. It uses a structured, level-based model of care to support how services are planned, delivered and accessed across different parts of the dental system.

The standard covers key areas including care allocation, referral and triage, anxiety management, sedation and general anaesthetic pathways, safeguarding, governance and the role of paediatric managed clinical networks.

It applies to all providers of oral healthcare for children and young people, including primary, community, secondary and tertiary dental services. The publication is intended to support local planning, pathway development, service specifications and implementation activity, helping to promote more consistent and equitable care.

Colleagues working across dental services, commissioning, public health, managed clinical networks and wider oral health teams may find the standard useful as part of service planning and development.

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