Brush Day & Night
Brushing your teeth twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste is one of the most important habits for good oral health and general health.
Through Brush Day & Night (BDN) activities, children and adults learn about the benefits of good oral hygiene and are taught to brush their teeth twice-daily with a fluoride toothpaste. BDN also encourages children to become community advocates and spread the message of good oral health to their families and friends.
BDN, launched in 2005 under the name Live.Laugh.Learn., has reached over 40 countries through a long-standing partnership between FDI and Unilever.
BDN is composed of two main activities:
- Oral health education programmes in schools
This 21-day programme brings Brush Day & Night’s key messages to schoolchildren, teaching them the importance of toothbrushing twice-daily with a fluoride toothpaste and encouraging them to spread this message in their communities. Children brush their teeth at school under supervision, a practice that helps create a habit that will last. - World Oral Health Day activities
Brush Day & Night organizes World Oral Health Day celebrations around the world. The celebrations offer children an opportunity to be global ambassadors for effective oral healthcare.
Achievements
Phase III of BDN, which ran from 2014 to 2016, reached over 4 million children and adults. Results showed that in the schools where BDN taught students to brush twice-daily with a fluoride toothpaste, 25% more children were now brushing their teeth compared to when the first intervention began. The oral health education programmes in schools were deemed efficient, sustainable, and most effective for children between the ages of seven and nine years old.
Next steps
BDN is now in its fourth phase, which will run until the end of 2019 in 12 countries.
Staff contact
Outreach
2005-2009
1 million
2010-2013
>1 million
2014-2016
136 million
Project phases
- Oral health school programmes
The 21-Day programme brings Brush Day & Night’s key messages to children, teaching them the importance of brushing twice-daily with fluoride toothpaste and encouraging them to spread the message. Children brush their teeth at school under supervision, a method that helps create a habit that will last.
The impact of the school programme will be measured by looking at children’s oral health, hygiene and wellbeing before and after the 21 days. In Phase IV of Brush Day & Night, the school programme will run in Indonesia and Nigeria, starting in July 2017. - World Oral Health Day activities
Brush Day & Night organized World Oral Health Day celebrations in 12 countries in 2017. The events reinforce the project’s messages and offer children a platform to both learn and teach the world about toothbrushing. Activities took place in: Indonesia, Nigeria, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ghana, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Egypt, Chile and Morocco.
Activities: Education programme in schools and helping children become advocates for oral health. Measuring the impact of the programme on children’s oral health.
Number of people reached: 136 million
Activities: Promoting oral health and toothbrushing in schools and communities
Number of people reached: over 1 million
Activities: Promoting oral health and toothbrushing in schools and communities
Number of people reached: 1 million
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