Pre-schoolers from Kenton Park Nursery School were all smiles on Monday 4th July as mydentist’s mobile dental classroom arrived in Gosforth to teach them how to maintain a happy, healthy mouth.
We decided that the next location on our mydentist Smile Mobile kids’ club tour should be Newcastle, following research which revealed that a staggering 28 per cent of children in the north east will have experienced dental decay before their first day of school. In fact, for five year olds in the North East, dental decay will result in one or more of their teeth needing to be extracted or filled because of cavities!
Last year, almost 500 children aged five to nine were admitted to hospital for multiple tooth extractions every week, making tooth decay is one of the nation’s most common childhood diseases. It’s also one of the most preventable.
mydentist’s mobile dental classroom has been travelling the length and the breadth of the country visiting schools with dentists and dental nurses on board to educate more children on the benefits of looking after their teeth and also what food and drink is good for their teeth and what they should avoid.
mydentist practice manager, Amanda Jameson said: “Our aim is to change this trend by raising awareness of the free dental care which is available to children on the NHS. Fluoride varnish should be applied to children’s teeth twice a year from the age of three. However, our research has identified that 43 per cent of children in the north east haven’t yet been treated.”
“We also want to show children that looking after your teeth is not only really important, but it can also be fun.”
“And it really works. On average after we visit a school with our mobile dental classroom, appointments with children increase by 18 per cent.”
During the visit, the giddy pre-schoolers got the opportunity to identify which food and drinks were good for their oral health and which weren’t.
Amanda also said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the response our Smiles Mobile has received from schools, especially here in Newcastle.
“Today our lessons were attended by children from across the city and each were given a special goody bag containing a two-minute tooth brush timer and The Little Book of Big Smiles so they can carry on maintaining their dental health outside the classroom.
“Our mobile classroom is touring the country and we couldn’t have received a more positive response to our journey to improve the UK’s dental health.”
The arrival of the mydentist mobile classroom coincides with the launch of our TV advertising campaign ‘Everyone Deserves a Great Smile’ launching in the Tyne Tees region – an exciting time for the region indeed.
For more information on the free dental care available to children or to arrange a school visit contact your local mydentist practice