All smiles as UK’s largest oral health campaign celebrates 40th Birthday

LEADING health charity, the Oral Health Foundation, is delighted to announce the return of National Smile Month for 2016. This year the campaign promises to be bigger and better than ever as it marks its 40th birthday.

This year the UK’s largest and longest running oral health campaign takes place between May 16 and June 16 and aims to increase awareness of important oral health issues and make a significant difference to the wellbeing of millions of people.

Together, with thousands of individuals and organisations, National Smile Month promotes three key messages at the heart of good oral health: brush your teeth last thing at night and at least one other time during the day with a fluoride toothpaste, cut down on how often you eat sugary foods and drinks, and visit the dentist regularly, as often as they recommend. Who can take part? National Smile Month is a campaign which everybody is encouraged to get involved with.

There are ways for a wide variety of groups, companies and individuals to get involved. Dental and health professionals, schools, pharmacies, community groups, colleges and workplaces – in fact, anyone with an interest in good oral healthcare, help to deliver positive messages on oral health through thousands of events. Why is it needed? First conceived in 1977, National Smile Month aimed to address an increasingly critical problem of how to get people to look after their teeth in a time when only one in three people had their natural teeth.

Thankfully, times have changed since then and there have been numerous changes in public attitudes to their oral health, but many problems still exist. Tooth decay is still far too common, especially in children where nearly a third (31 per cent) of fiveyear- olds and half (46 per cent) of eight-year- olds have visible signs of dental decay.

One in four adults admit that they don’t brush twice a day and more than a quarter only currently visit their dentist when they have a problem. Huge oral health disparities still exist depending on issues such as socio- economic status, age, where people live and even due to disability and ethnicity.

Almost all of dental health problems are preventable and this is what National Smile Month is trying to draw attention to and promote through positive messages and education.