A range of school-based approaches have been proposed in a consultation on Northern Ireland's new oral health strategy.
It also recommended that all schools should ban vending machines selling sugary snacks and drinks, and have a healthy breaks and meals policy.
Minister Angela Smith highlighted the scale of the problem, pointing out that almost 8,000 children, some as young as two, had received a general anaesthetic for dental treatment, one of the highest levels in Europe.
She said: "If we are to close the oral health gap between Northern Ireland and our neighbours then dental services must focus more on prevention."
- www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/pgroups/dental/dentalpubs.asp/
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