Whittington Hospital recently hosted an event in celebration of National Smile Month, aiming to raise awareness about dental health through various activities and discussions. The event featured multiple stands where participants engaged in educational and entertaining activities.
Dr. Nigel Carter, CEO of the Oral Health Foundation, expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration with Whittington Hospital. "We are delighted to be celebrating with Whittington Hospital this year and we hope we will continue to do so for many years to come. Whittington's fantastic oral health promotion team have long been pioneers and great supporters of National Smile Month," he said.
He further emphasized the significance of widespread participation: "It is fantastic to see events all over the UK celebrating National Smile Month. The more people involved from dental professionals to patients, the wider we can spread our message."
The theme for this year's campaign, "Love your smile," aims to highlight the importance of maintaining good oral hygiene. Dr. Carter elaborated on its relevance: “Our smile is important for looking after our dental health, socialising and even eating and drinking. We hope to encourage everyone to learn what makes a healthy mouth from daily hygiene habits to making small changes to our diet.”
Dr. Claire Dollery, CEO of the Whittington Hospital NHS Trust and a cardiologist, spoke at the event about the clinical connections between oral care and cardiac health. She noted her experience with patients requiring full mouth clearance before cardiac surgery due to infection risks associated with poor oral health.
Dr. Dollery also addressed common practices that contribute to dental decay: rewarding children with sugary treats. She underscored self-care's role in maintaining good oral health as a priority for everyone: "Feeling healthy with good oral health will enable us to provide better patient care as we know happy staff correlate with best healthcare."
She praised the hospital’s oral health promotion team for their efforts in community outreach and interventions aimed at improving patient outcomes.
Participants enjoyed a variety of activities designed to educate them about dental health, including games illustrating sugar's impact on teeth, creative crafts like smiley picture frames and coloring sheets for children, and bite-sized training sessions for staff.
Sally McGregor, an oral health promoter at Whittington Health who has been involved in National Smile Month since 1997 when it was known as National Smile Week, reflected on her team's longstanding commitment: “Our team here have been participating in National Smile Month since 1997... It’s been great to promote all the important dental health messages out there.”
For more information about National Smile Month, visit https://www.dentalhealth.org/national-smile-month.
