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Posted on 29 Mar 2017

Nottinghamshire Healthcare has been shortlisted in two categories at The Dental Awards 2017, hosted by Dental Republic.

The Dental Awards recognise teams and individuals whose commitment to patient care and professional development continues to raise standards across UK dentistry.

The Trust’s Oral Health Promotion Team has been shortlisted for the Oral Health Promoter of the Year and Best National SMILE Event awards.

The team, also known as the Tooth Fairies of Nottingham, was nominated for their “Tales with the Tooth Fairy” theme for National SMILE Month in May 2016. The team talked to over 1000 children at local primary schools, health centres and libraries to address the importance of looking after their teeth with four interactive storybooks and visual aids.  The stories covered common themes such as being frightened of the dentist or why dentists wear gloves, which helped to break down some of the stigmas and fears associated with going to the dentist.

The team also worked with local dental practices to highlight the importance of good oral health to young patients, through fun and educational activities.

Their nomination for the Oral Health Promoter of the Year highlighted how they have strived to improve the oral health of the local community through innovative interventions including:

• Brushing Buddies (delivered to over 50 schools) - an evidence based supervised tooth brushing programme. Teaching staff are trained to become a ‘brushing buddy’ to motivate, educate and deliver an ongoing oral health intervention on site to improve the smiles of their students and families.
• Teeth Tools for Schools (delivered to over 361 Primary Schools) – teaching resource to provide all schools with the knowledge and resources to promote the importance of oral health and include it across the new national curriculum.
• Oral Health Alliance (locally called The SMILE Squad) – creating an Oral Health Alliance, building on the already well established local Dental Practice Accreditation and Oral Health Network. 

Julia Wilkinson, Head of Oral Health Promotion said, “We are absolutely delighted to be recognised for the work we have delivered over the last 12 months. To be finalists in two categories, when the nominations were the highest ever, has shocked us all!”

Dental Republic received hundreds of nominations for this year’s awards. The team is one of nine finalists in the Oral Health Promoter of the Year and one of five in the Best National Smile Month Event categories.

Winners will be announced on 12 May at an awards ceremony held alongside The Dentistry Show in Birmingham.

For more information visit www.dentalrepublic.co.uk/awards