Smile’s new campaign, launching on World Oral Health Day on 20 March, sets out to change this damaging pattern. But it’s not doing so by introducing a new toothbrush or a tasty toothpaste. Instead, it’s applying behavioural science to replace bad habits with a regular routine that builds in tooth-brushing – an important change that experts say can last a lifetime.
Working with behavioural scientist Professor Tim Newton at the world-renowned King’s College London,* Smile developed Brush, Story, Sleep. It’s a simple but fun programme designed to help care-givers and children create a night-time routine that combines a bedtime story with night-time brushing.