Our achievements

Posted on 12 Mar 2020

The Trust's Oral Health Promotion team has been selected as a finalist in the Best Outreach or Charity Initiative category (North & Central) of The Dental Awards 2020.

The nomination recognises their work on three innovations; Teeth Tools for Schools programme, Brushing Buddies and Tales with the Tooth Fairy and the Sugar Scientists.

The team has developed an educational resource package for local Primary Schools called Teeth Tools for Schools to support teaching staff who work with children from 3 to 11 years. The resource has activities designed to complement the national curriculum and activities can be delivered one to one, classroom based or even whole school approaches.

Every primary school in Bassetlaw and Nottinghamshire has at least one copy on site. In 2019 282/284 (99%) of schools in Nottinghamshire had pledged to use or had used the popular resource.  An electronic version is now also available, free of charge, on the service’s dedicated website: www.nottinghamoralhealth.com

Brushing Buddies is the team’s local supervised toothbrushing programme. It covers 23 schools, over 3,000 two to seven-year-old children and enables all children to be able to clean their teeth at school every day. Every school receives onsite training from the team to all staff and toothbrushing resources are provided free of charge, including resources to take home. Every school is also linked to a local dental practice for extra support and receives onsite motivational activities including parent workshops, assemblies, child engagement opportunities - all tailor made to suit the audience.

Engaging with the community is vital to share the current oral health trends, practices and information.  The ‘Tales with the Tooth Fairy’ initiative takes the team across the County, talking to 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 cover 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. Tales with The Tooth Fairy has been so well received that it is now available on YouTube.

The team also came up with the idea of Sugar Scientists for older children and families to discuss oral health but also the importance of hidden sugars in drinks. Having the opportunity to try out elephant toothpaste, putting hands in hazardous materials (different types of sugar) and watching an exploding plaque broke down barriers, increased excitement and embraced the willingness to having a go.

Julia Wilkinson, Senior Health Promotion Specialist with the Oral Health Promotion team said: “Oral Health often carries a negative stigma and has to be overcome to enable children and adults to move on and embrace change. By working in partnership and engaging in the community it enthuses groups to laugh, learn and listen in a fun environment and in a non-threatening atmosphere. Talking about teeth does not have to be boring, it just needs to be inspiring. Watch out for Sweetie Swap Sessions for parents coming soon.”

The Dental Awards formally recognises outstanding individuals and teams whose dedication and drive continues to raise standards throughout the UK dentistry profession.  The awards will be presented on 15 May 2020 in Birmingham alongside the leading UK dental trade exhibition and conference: The Dentistry Show.