A BOROUGH has kicked off it £120,000 a year drive to improve dental health - especially among children.

The launch of Blackburn with Darwen's 'Oral Health Strategy' at Ewood Park came days after new figures showed the borough was close to top of the national league for the extraction of decayed teeth for under 20s.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities figures showed around 145 youngsters aged 19 or younger in Blackburn with Darwen had at least one tooth removed in hospital due to decay in 2020-21.

This represents 342 in every 100,000 children in the borough, down from 601 per 100,000 in 2019-20.

The new oral health strategy was launched with help from local children, a special appearance from Rover the Dog who gave his teeth a brush, and a video message from Blackburn Rovers defender Ryan Nyambe announcing the winners of a poster competition for primary children in the borough.

The winners - from The Olive School, Lammack Primary School and St Silas CE Primary School - had their printed posters presented to them by Rover.

Their designs will feature on Blackburn with Darwen’s bus shelters, billboards and digital screens..

The borough had the highest proportion of five-year-olds experiencing decay in England in 2018/19, with 51 per cent having at least one rotting, missing or filled tooth although the rate fell to 42 per cent in 2021.

The council's public health team, along with Blackburn Rovers Community Trust, dental care provider AP Smilecare and Blackburn with Darwen Healthy Living, are already committed to initiatives including GULP (Give Up Loving Pop); supervised brushing in nursery and reception classes; a Madrassah oral health pilot; becoming Lancashire’s first Sugar Smart Town; and Bangor Street Community Centre holding peer support sessions.

The strategy also includes training for the health and education workforce; the integration of oral health into home visits by health and social workers; community-based fluoride varnish programmes; targeted provision of toothbrushes and toothpaste; and the controversial fluoridation of public water supplies.

Cllr Julie Gunn, the council's children's services boss who chairs its Oral Health Strategy Group, said: "There is work to be done if we want to really tackle this issue and make sure all children in the borough have healthy teeth.

"We have all been working really hard to improve this since 2018,when our rates were labelled as the highest, and we are making some big strides.”

Cllr Kevin Connor, Conservative health spokesman, said: "It has to be hoped this strategy works. The level of tooth decay in borough children is shameful.The council needs to put its full weight behind this strategy."