Oral health is an integral part of overall good health and wellbeing and allows people to eat, speak, smile, and show emotions. It also affects a person’s self-esteem, school performance and attendance at work or school. Torbay’s residents have different experiences of oral health with significant inequalities in oral health across the area.
In our new Torbay Oral Health Framework for 2025-30, we outline what oral health is like in Torbay and have set out plans for how it can be improved by further developing and building on evidence-based prevention work which may have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It is also important that we work together with our communities and partner organisations and strive to improve oral health for all residents through oral health promotion programmes with a particular focus on our residents who are most vulnerable to poor oral health.
Our framework will aim to improve the oral health of everyone living in Torbay. We will reduce oral health inequalities and create supportive environments by working with our communities and partner organisations to promote oral health and contribute towards maintaining good oral health throughout the life course.
We will also work collaboratively with partner organisations and across services to integrate oral health considerations into policymaking and focusing on preventive interventions to improve the oral health of all our communities.
Our framework has been developed by working together with the multi-disciplinary Devon Integrated Care Board (ICB) Oral Health Steering Group with representatives from services and organisations who are interested in improving oral health for all residents of Devon. It included partners from NHS Commissioning, adults and health commissioning services, children and young people’s commissioning, education, local dentists, dental public health consultants and Torbay Healthwatch. This group will also share decision making over the period of the framework.
Torbay Council, in conjunction with the Devon Oral Health Steering Group, has identified several priority areas for delivery within this 5 year framework. These reflect the strategic direction outlined in the framework, including national best practice, the latest evidence based interventions and what the available data tells us. The priority areas are:
In order to help us deliver against these priority areas, a joint Action Plan has been agreed which includes key performance indicators, milestones and partners.
Through this framework we aim to improve the oral health of the people of Torbay and make a significant contribution to overall health and wellbeing of the population.