A health authority’s humorous sexy vampire short film streamed on YouTube and aimed at getting young patients through the doors of local NHS dentists has become a media hit.
NHS Northamptonshire originally posted the short film to the video-sharing site in February.
It features a raunchy scene which goes horribly wrong when a vampire’s female victim flags up his bad breath – and the story has been picked up by the Daily Telegraph, BBC News and the Daily Mail.
Amanda Borland, Northamptonshire NHS’ primary care contract manager led the team responsible for the project which led to the creation of Mouth Wide Open.
She said at the time: ‘A humorous viral approach is great way to get our message across to the approximately 40,000 young people in the county that have not visited a dentist in the last two years.
‘We want them to understand the importance, and know how easy it is to find a dentist and get a check up every year. You do not have to register with a dentist and you can change your dentist whenever you like. This innovative approach has created a positive interest from the SHA, the Department of Health and other NHS regions.’
The film – which is tagged ‘Want a dentist after dark? Text ‘dentist’ to 64746 to find your nearest NHS dentist’ – has generated so much interest it’s already clocked 6,000 hits.
The Department of Health has promoted it as an example of innovative good practice improving access, other SHAs and PCTs have shown interest in the campaign, including Portsmouth which has traditionally had poor levels of dental health anf for whom it’s now been adapted.
Research carried out for the NHS in the city showed that among men aged 16 to 35 the main motivation to take care of teeth was having fresh breath and an attractive smile as their photos were increasingly appearing on social networking websites such as Facebook.
It also showed young men were more likely to brush regularly or go to the dentist when their mother or girlfriend reminded them.
