A NORTH-EAST woman known as ‘the Toothfairy’ is to be appointed a CBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List in recognition of her tireless commitment to improving children’s oral health.

The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD), for which Claire Stevens is official spokesperson and immediate past President, said it is “proud beyond measure” by the recognition.

A mother to two young children and the founder of the Toothfairy blog – www.toothfairyblog.org – Claire, from Tynemouth, has taken a lead role in ensuring that the whole child is assessed, not just the teeth, signposting families onto other services.

She said: ”This award feels momentous because it has been made for services to children’s oral health.

“At last we are recognising the importance of supporting every child to grow up free of dental disease.”

A spokesperson for the BSPD said: “Healthy teeth for life should be every child’s right and it is this message that Claire works to share and promote.

“She is relentlessly positive – dental decay is almost entirely preventable and by working together, everyone in healthcare can play a part in reducing the scourge of dental decay.”

In her day job, working as a Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry in Greater Manchester’s Health and Social Care Partnership (GMHSCP), she has made her mark.

Jon Rouse, Chief Officer of GMHSCP, supported her nomination for recognition in the Honours List.

She is the chair of the Managed Clinical Network for Paediatric Dentistry in Greater Manchester and an expert advisor to the Brush DJ app.

In her day job at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, she has been instrumental in connecting her hospital with a programme designed to reduce obesity in Greater Manchester’s children.

As a result, many of those working with children in the city and beyond are sharing important key messages in relation to diet and oral hygiene.

She has thrown herself both personally and professionally into reversing the tide of general anaesthetics for multiple extractions in children.

Claire added: “I am the public face of the campaign to improve children’s oral health, but this isn’t just about me.

“Others have smoothed the way, and I am privileged to work alongside many people who continue to dedicate their lives to improving children’s health.

“My advocacy has only worked thanks to all those who collaborate and work with me, in BSPD, in Greater Manchester and within the profession. To them I pay tribute.”

Claire stepped into the limelight after the Faculty of Dental Surgery (of the Royal College of Surgeons of England) published its landmark report into the state of children’s oral health.

The media needed to speak to a dentist with experience of treating extensive dental decay in children and who could share possible solutions for the high numbers aged as young as two undergoing a general anaesthetic (GA) for multiple extractions.

As BSPD’s official media spokesperson, Claire was the obvious choice. Invitations to speak and write started to come directly to Claire and she gained a reputation as a passionate advocate.

In 2016, work began on making Dental Check by One (DCby1) into a national campaign. BSPD views the campaign as an essential step in the war on early dental decay because it gets parents into the dentist to receive positive preventive advice for their young child.

Led by Claire, BSPD rallied 17 healthcare organisations behind the campaign, connecting with health visitors, school nurses and oral health promoters.

In 2017, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) published their State of Child Health report. Claire contributed to the chapter on oral health and DCby1was included. This was the first time that DCby1 was mentioned as a recommendation in a national publication.

As a guest of the All Party Parliamentary Group for a Fit and Healthy Childhood in 2017 Claire took with her a jar of teeth which she had extracted that very afternoon, including sixteen teeth from a two year old.

There was an atmosphere of shock as MPs and colleagues on the committee were confronted by the reality of decayed teeth removed from children.

As the keynote speaker at the British Dental Association conference in 2017, she challenged every member of her audience to see four more children aged under 2 in the coming year in order to reduce the high number of GAs.

The national launch of DCby1 took place in September 2017 over the course of the BSPD national conference in Manchester. The meeting, hosted by Claire and her team, was attended by three out of four UK Chief Dental Officers, all supporting the principle of Dental Check by One. The launch took Claire further into the limelight and onto BBC Breakfast’s red sofa, sitting beside CDO for England, Sara Hurley. Once again, the jar of teeth was with her.

As curator of the @NHS Twitter account Claire spent a week broadcasting positive preventive messages and throwing a light on her working life.

She acquired an additional 1,000 followers in just seven days.

Under her leadership, BSPD has published position statements on water fluoridation and resources for parents. She is a nationally renowned speaker stressing the importance of collaboration and gives freely of her advice to organisations producing resources for parents and carers, whether leaflets, websites or apps.