Oral Health Promotion

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It’s a sad fact that 46% of 5 year olds in the UK have experienced tooth decay with 60% of 9 year olds having filled or decayed teeth. 5 year olds who have visited the dentist regularly have less fillings and less decay than children of the same age who have not. Our aim is to get the message out into the wider community – tooth decay can and does start as soon as teeth appear but the good news is that it is preventable.

We support National Smile Month in May/June each year, with themes such as “Brush for Health” with the emphasis on how healthy teeth and gums helps for good general health. Our display boards presented interesting facts and information promoting good oral health as a means to reducing the risk of heart disease, strokes, diabetes and low birthweight/premature births. Every visitor to the practice was offered a small gift as part of our popcorn bonanza – a healthy snack good for both general and dental health (sugar free!).

Another year Dental Practices were encouraged to promote the life long benefits of brushing teeth for “two minutes twice a day“.

At Shipston Dental Practice we organised a fun afternoon of activities and competitions to promote the benefits of little lifestyle changes that make a big difference ot the dental health of children (not to mention their parents and grandparents!) There were oral health goodie bags, competitions, prizes and even a resident Tooth Fairy!

shipston_dental_16Dr Carrie Preston has a special interest in Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics – she is convinced that a happy, friendly dental practice is one of the key factors in getting families to adopt the healthy lifestyle being promoted. Carrie says “The parents that bring their kids to our practice are working so hard to provide their children with the best start for future dental health it is important we support their efforts by creating an environment that makes visits to the dentist as easy, relaxed and beneficial as possible.”

The afternoon was such a success that a team from the Practice went on to provide a week of after-school oral health promotion sessions at Shipston Leisure Centre. Carrie goes on to say “Clinical Dentistry is advancing rapidly and we provide ever more sophisticated ways of repairing damaged teeth. Oral health promotion won’t stop kids falling off skateboards and out of trees but if we can prevent tooth decay and gum disease it will enable most people to keep their natural teeth for a life time.”

Further Oral Health Promotions organised by Shipston Dental Practice include:

School visits – Continuing the theme of National Smile Month Carrie Preston has been visiting local schools to raise children’s awareness of being responsible for looking after their teeth properly.

Your Child’s Teeth at Seconday School – we produced a leaflet to be distributed to all Year 6,7 and 8 pupils of participating local schools, emphasing the changes in diet, habits and attitute that can seriously affect your teenager’s teeth.

A further Kid’s Activity Session was held at Shipston Dental Practice in the summer holidays and an Oral Health Promotion week in October half term.

September sees us focussing on pre-school children and babies (with their mums!) with visits to nurseries, play and toddler groups etc. If you know of any group that would like to take part please let Carrie Preston know. Dental decay can and does start this early but the good news is that it is totally preventable.

We have been liaising with local schools and sports groups about Dental Accidents and Trauma. We are specifically promoting the need to seek emergency advice quickly and the use of properly fitting sports guards to limit the damage in the event of trauma. Our sponsorship of Shipston Rugby Club has the message “Keep your smile where it belongs – wear a mouth guard!” Click here for trauma emergency advice