The Education Act 1918 had nominal provision for dental treatment for children at school.
It was the Education Act 1944 that made it compulsory for children at primary and secondary schools to have dental inspections in England and Wales.
The provision of a school dental service mostly appeared after the Second World War, and until the end of the 1980s.
[6] By the late 1980s, due to advances in toothpaste, and lowering of typical rates of dental treatment amongst children, the provision of having a schools dental service was seen as much less of a priority, than in the 1950s, when advances in toothpaste had not occurred.
[9] In Warwickshire, a dentist would visit a secondary school twice a week, and a child would have two check ups a year, with an individual dental record card.