We’re pleased to announce the launch of the mydentist Foundation, created to tackle oral health inequalities, support vulnerable and underserved communities and open up new pathways into careers within dentistry.
Backed by £1 million of investment, the Foundation will support charitable organisations, community projects and initiatives that help more people access dental care, while creating opportunities for talented people from underrepresented backgrounds to enter and progress within the profession.
As the first major initiative delivered through the Foundation, mydentist has partnered with Dentaid The Dental Charity to fund a new eco-conscious mobile dental unit, which will provide vital care to vulnerable communities across the UK.
Introducing the mydentist Foundation
The mydentist Foundation builds on our successful efforts to expand access to dentistry, with more than 130,000 additional NHS patients now being seen across mydentist practices, the launch of our affordable private care offering, myoptions, and investment in larger, state-of-the-art practices in consumer retail settings with improved accessibility and the latest technology.
The mydentist Foundation is backed by £1 million of investment, allowing it to be sustainable and support charitable organisations and causes for the long term.
It has two core aims: the first is to improve oral health for the most vulnerable in our society by supporting local and national charities targeting improved dental provision for communities in need; and the second is to support the most talented people from underrepresented groups to pursue careers within dentistry.
The mydentist Foundation is designed around our purpose of helping the nation smile. It will focus on four key initiatives:
- Driving down oral healthcare inequalities, particularly for the most vulnerable, through a new, transformative partnership with Dentaid The Dental Charity
- A new dental scholarship scheme, in partnership with leading UK universities, to be awarded to a select number of exceptionally talented students from underrepresented backgrounds throughout their BDS qualification
- Creating apprenticeship pathways to support dental nurses who want to become hygienists and therapists
- A new pathway to allow nurses to develop to orthodontic therapists
To support us in making these initiatives as impactful as possible, four industry leaders within the dental sector have been appointed to a new Ambassador Board: Professor Christopher Tredwin MBE, Dean of Queen Mary University of London; Fiona Ellwood, Emeritus Chair of the Society of British Dental Nurses; Dr Olurotimi Adesanya MBE, Chair of the African and Caribbean Dental Association; and Dr Ben Atkins, former President of the Oral Health Foundation.
All members of the Ambassador Board bring deep sector expertise and knowledge which will enable us to ensure that all new initiatives being undertaken are as beneficial, meaningful and impactful as possible.
Partnership with Dentaid The Dental Charity
The mydentist Foundation is wasting no time in its mission of driving down oral health inequalities, with the announcement of a revolutionary partnership with Dentaid The Dental Charity. With 60 years’ combined experience within dentistry, we are joining forces with the dental charity to lower oral health inequalities across the UK.
Setting out to provide underserved communities and vulnerable groups with vital dental care, we have pledged £250,000 to enable Dentaid to build a new and environmentally conscious van, which will enable the charity to increase access to safe, sustainable dental care for people experiencing homelessness, harm, poverty and abuse. The van will be solar powered, aligning with our wider Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy, and will be the first of its kind within the Dentaid fleet.
The new vehicle will be allocated to one of Dentaid’s regional hubs. From there, it will be used to deliver outreach care for target populations in that region of the UK, predominantly at hostels and crisis accommodation, community centres, family hubs, refuges and food banks.
The new vehicle will be used for a minimum of 120 outreach dental clinics a year, with an average of 10 patients seen at each clinic. The expected lifespan of the van is 15 years, putting mydentist and Dentaid on track to deliver 1,800 clinics, support 18,000 people and provide more than 54,000 treatments, including fillings, extractions, scale and polish treatments, fluoride varnish, X-rays, oral cancer screenings and dental health instruction.
Transforming dentistry within the UK
Speaking about the launch, leaders from mydentist and its partner organisations shared what the Foundation means for the communities it will support and for the future of dentistry.
Nilesh Pandya, Chief Executive Officer at mydentist, commented: “As the UK’s largest provider of dental care, it is our responsibility to help transform how the industry removes the inequalities that unfortunately still exist within UK dentistry today. We know that while dentistry is a fantastic career pathway for so many and while we support over 4 million patients, there is still work to be done to open up dental careers to hugely talented people from underrepresented groups and to end oral health inequalities. That’s why we’re pledging £1m to set up the mydentist Foundation and to partner with Dentaid, who are working tirelessly to support vulnerable people in accessing the oral health care they need and deserve.”
Tom Riall, Chair of the mydentist Foundation Board, commented: “It is a huge honour to be asked to Chair the mydentist Foundation, allowing us to extend our support to improve access to care for under-served communities and to help those wanting to enter the dental profession. The new Foundation will make an enormous difference to so many.”
Above: Tom Riall, Chair of the mydentist Foundation Board
Nyree Whitley, Chief Clinical Officer at mydentist, commented: “What makes mydentist unique is our people. Their drive and determination to provide oral health care to as many people in the UK as possible is palpable through the dedication, care and empathy that they bring to their roles every single day. The mydentist Foundation is a huge step forward for us and will enable us to achieve this on a larger scale than ever before, allowing us to support more communities in need of vital dental care, increase our charitable donations, and help remove barriers to entry to the profession by working with leading universities and creating industry-leading pathways for nurses to develop and grow into Orthodontic Therapist, Therapist and Hygienist roles.”
Andy Evans, Chief Executive Officer at Dentaid The Dental Charity, commented: “Dentaid the Dental Charity is immensely proud to be chosen as mydentist’s charity partner with the provision of a new environmentally conscious charity dental unit. We’ve worked together for some time now, and mydentist previously donated a van to us in 2022, which is now coming towards the end of its life. This new partnership will allow us to see a huge number of patients and deliver critical dental care to vulnerable groups across the UK. We look forward to working with mydentist and to meeting clinicians and nurses from the organisation who would like to volunteer on the unit in the coming months.”
Learn more about the mydentist Foundation
The partnership with Dentaid marks the first step in a wider programme of work for the mydentist Foundation. Through long-term investment, new partnerships and initiatives designed to widen access to both dental care and careers within the profession, the Foundation aims to create meaningful and lasting change for communities across the UK. The new Dentaid vehicle is expected to be ready for use in October, when mydentist and Dentaid hope to deliver its first clinic in Blackpool in November.
As this work develops, we look forward to sharing more about the people, partnerships and projects helping us tackle oral health inequalities, support those most in need and open up new opportunities within dentistry. To learn more about the mydentist Foundation and its Ambassador Board, please visit: https://www.mydentist.co.uk/about-us/mydentist-foundation
To find out more about Dentaid, the dental charity, visit: https://www.dentaid.org/