CHILDREN in an area with some of the worst levels of dental hygiene in Swansea will now be all smiles thanks to a new mobile dentist bus.

The health board's mobile bus was launched yesterday at Clwyd School, Penlan, an area which has been identified as "high need" by the Welsh Government dental scheme Designed to Smile.

"All the areas in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot are split into 19 areas, and the higher-need areas are getting this project first," said Mandy Silva, Abertawe Bro Morgannwg (ABM) University Health Board's Designed to Smile manager.

"The average number of teeth missing in children and the number of fillings they have is what we go on — and for this area (Penlan), it is quite high."

The bus is ABM's latest addition to the Design to Smile programme, which allocates money to authorities in a bid to improve children's dental hygiene.

Manned by a dentist and dental nurse, the bus will go into schools to identify problem areas in children's teeth.

It will offer fissure sealant, which protects the vulnerable back teeth, and fluoride varnish, which safeguards teeth from decay.

Dental health educator Aimee Clement-Rees works on the scheme.

She said: "We deal with the 6 to 11-year- olds — they love it once they get into it."

Though the scheme as a whole currently sees dental workers like Aimee visiting 112 schools across the region, Penlan is the first school to get the mobile bus.

This is both because the area is classified as high-need and because of the school's exemplary co-operation with the scheme.

Year 4 pupil Kirsty Pickard, 9, explained how the programme had helped her.

"Brushing helps your teeth," she said. "If you don't do it you will get gummy."

Asked by the Post what advice she would give to children in other schools who do not brush their teeth, she said: "You have to brush your teeth in circles because if you do not do that it will damage your teeth."

Deputy head teacher Phil Ellis added: "The whole thing is about raising the profile of the issue of children's dental hygiene and it's great we are the first school in Wales to get the bus.

"Pupil wellbeing is very high on the Welsh Government agenda. at the moment."

Ms Silva said the school had been one of the most co-operative she had worked with.

"This school is exceptional in how they have worked with us," she said.

"Clwyd School takes on board all the advice we give."

She added: "The team is delighted to take delivery of the new mobile dental unit.

"It will form an essential part of the Designed to Smile programme to improve the oral health of school children in Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot.

"The unit will visit local primary schools and provide preventive care with little disruption to the school day.

"This is an exiting time in the development of the programme and the team will be on the road in the next couple of weeks."

A spokeswoman from the ABM health board said recent figures showed more than 50 per cent of 5-year-olds in Wales had experienced tooth decay.

More than 515 schools take part in Design to Smile, and the bus scheme will be rolled out across more of these after its launch in Penlan.

The key messages of the programme are: supervised tooth brushing; healthy eating and drinking which emphasises limited sugar consumption kept to mealtimes only; and annual dental checks.