Asda and Colgate donate 70k dental kits to UK schools

The kits, which include a toothbrush, toothpaste and a brushing chart for children, come as tooth decay remains the leading cause of hospital admission for children aged five to nine years, with those living in the most deprived communities 3.5 times more likely to have a decaying tooth extracted than children in more affluent areas.

The packs also include education materials for families to help cement a good oral care routine at home, while schools will be given access to Colgate’s Bright Smiles, Bright Futures school programme, which is aligned to the national curriculum.

Asda chief people and corporate affairs officer Hayley Tatum MBE said: “Children from the most deprived communities clearly face an uphill battle when it comes to receiving basic dental care.

“By providing the tools and educational materials to over 1600 schools and 70,000 students, we hope to help children to establish healthy dental habits and behaviours that they can continue for the rest of their lives.”

It comes as last month, Asda made millions of pounds available to UK primary schools by encouraging families to use its loyalty programme.

As part of the initiative, which is fronted by British fitness coach and social media personality Joe Wicks, the supermarket is offering to donate 0.5% of the value of any shop done until 30 November to customers’ primary school of choice when they shop with Asda Rewards.

The supermarket’s campaign has raised £3m in the first four week of its launch.

Grocery Gazette