Stacey McMaster details some of the ways that you and your practice can help to spread the message of good oral health this National Smile Month.
National Smile Month is a fantastic opportunity for your practice and dental colleagues to raise awareness of important prevention messages.
This year, the theme is to encourage everyone to get involved in effective toothbrushing. Brushing our teeth is one of the most important things we can do to maintain a healthy mouth.
By educating everyone to brush their teeth twice a day, we can reduce gum disease. We also aim to reduce the incidence of dental decay, which can lead to tooth extraction and other dental and medical problems.
Community outreach
One of the ways practices can get involved with their communities is to set up a brush exchange. This involves offering discounts on manual or electric toothbrushes when patients bring in their old toothbrushes. You can even make it more environmentally friendly by recycling all the used toothbrushes.
Another way in which you can reach out to your community during National Smile Month is to invite local schools or youth groups to visit your dental practices for a lesson in all things dental using Dental Buddy.
Dental Buddy is the Oral Health Foundation’s free educational program for early years, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. The program contains lesson plans, teachers’ notes, activity sheets and everything that you need to deliver a successful lesson.
If a practice visit does not appeal to you, you could direct schools towards the Oral Health Foundation’s online resources. One of the best things about Dental Buddy is that you do not have to have any dental knowledge or training to deliver the lessons.
Great British Brushathon
On Monday 15 May, The Great British Brushathon will connect people from all around the world in one giant communal brushing event. Why not get your community and practice involved? All you need to do is take a selfie while brushing your teeth and post it to social media.
Alternatively, if you want to get a bit more creative, you can film a video of yourself brushing. You can even get your family or friends to join in, too.
It’s that easy, and a very fun way to highlight the importance of a good toothbrushing technique during National Smile Month. The team at the Oral Health Foundation will be joining in too, so you can look out for us and our super smiles!
We will be giving shout outs to our favourite #GreatBritishBrushathon posts throughout the day. Make sure to use the hashtag so we can easily find yours.
The Guinness World Record for the most people brushing their teeth simultaneously is 26,382. This was achieved by the Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry (IAPHD), Colgate-Palmolive India and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) in Bhubaneshwar, India on 7 November 2019. Can we beat this?
National Smile Month displays
Making a display for your practice can be a simple and effective way to celebrate and promote National Smile Month. There are lots of posters and other resources to download and print directly from the Oral Health Foundation’s website. Alternatively, you can order from dentalhealthshop.org.
You could also display the wonderful smiles of your staff and patients in your reception to show your support.
A selfie with our National Smile Month ‘smiley’ is a perfect way to raise awareness of the key messages of the campaign in your practice. When you upload your ‘smiley’ to our website, please remember to include #mysmileyselfie, #smilemonth and your location.
If you want to raise your profile with our National Smile Month ‘smiley’, have them branded for your practice.
With a customisable stick and messaging, these branded smileys are perfect for handing out to clients, patients and the public. This will create that all-important buzz and look great in photos.
Nominate a smile this National Smile Month
If you have someone very important to your practice or your community with a special smile, I would urge you to take part in the Nominate a Smile competition.
This is your chance to nominate someone who has done something amazing in the community. We are looking for people who go the extra mile to bring a smile to everyone they meet. That could be through excelling at their job or volunteering in the community.
Send a picture of your chosen nominee along with a brief description of why they deserve to be one of the faces of National Smile Month 2023. Please also include their age and where they’re from.
Send your entries to us at [email protected]. Include ‘nominate a smile’ in the subject so that we can make sure we don’t miss them.
Every year, the Oral Health Foundation chooses three lucky winners to go to a local comedy show.
Whichever way you choose to take part in National Smile Month, I hope you enjoy yourselves and pass on the message of how to look after your mouth.
