PDSE won the prestigious Social Enterprise of the Year Award, sponsored by the University of St Mark and St John.
More than 600 people attended the glitzy ceremony where 17 local businesses were honoured, picking up their awards from Herald editor Paul Burton and city businesswomen, and star of TV’s The Apprentice, Charleine Wain.
Clare Featherstone, commercial manager of Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise, said: “We’re really pleased. This is a proper team effort from all the staff supporting the people of Plymouth.”
PDSE was nominated for the award in recognition of its groundbreaking work in oral health that has benefited the people of Plymouth and gained recognition both nationally and internationally.

The Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise (PDSE) was named as the winner of the Social and Community Impact category at the 2015 Guardian University Awards. It beat fellow finalists the University of Manchester and the University of Nottingham to claim its second national honour, after winning a Green Gown Award for Enterprise in October of last year.

Wendy Smith, Community Engagement Lead, received the award from Ronni Ancona, who was the celebrity host for the event in London last night.

PDSE runs four Dental Education Facilities across the South West where dental profession students from Plymouth University treat NHS patients as part of their training, under the supervision of qualified dental care professionals. It also carries out a wide range of social and community engagement projects, some involving students, which aim to improve oral health and awareness and improve access to dental care – especially for those in the community who need it most.

Dr Robert Witton, Director of the PDSE and a qualified dentist in the Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry (PUPSMD), said: “This is a phenomenal endorsement of our work and my congratulations go not just to the team for this wonderful achievement, but also to the dental profession students at Plymouth University and the many community organisations that work with us – without whom we would not be able to deliver our successful projects. Our community projects have two objectives: to improve oral health awareness and access to dental care for groups in the community with most need; and to create projects and environments that help to develop well-rounded, patient-focused dental professionals of the future. This award is yet another indication that we are on the right track.”

Lyndsey Withers, from the Salvation Army-run Devonport Lifehouse, said: “We really value the input of the PDSE and dental students, and students in other health areas from Plymouth University. Good dental health is important, and getting our residents ‘orally fit’ gives a great boost to their confidence and self-esteem. The wonderful thing about working with the PDSE and dental students is that it is about more than dental care – they treat our residents with dignity and respect, and that is immensely important and beneficial.”

We were delighted to win a Green Gown Award in recognition of the work we do as a team and with dental students in the community.

Green Gown Awards recognise the exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by universities and colleges across the UK.

We won in the Enterprise category, where we have taken our community and outreach activities and developed them into learning resources and tools for other organisations to use.

Our activities are wide-ranging and embrace all sectors of the community, including children of all ages, young adults, the elderly, those with learning disabilities, the homeless, substance abusers, prisoners and people with specific medical conditions.

The award was presented to us by author and television presenter Simon Reeve.

The judges praised our submission and said: “An outstanding example of innovation, enterprise and collaboration with communities through curriculum and structure. The project had real impact on students and the community for the benefit of all those in the community.”

Robert Witton, director of Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise, said: “We worked with Plymouth University on our submission for this award and we are delighted to have been so successful. It’s great recognition not just for us and our Community Engagement Team, but also for all those organisations and individuals within the community who work with us.”

The trophy shelf at Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise HQ is groaning, because not only did we win a Green Gown Award, but we also received the Perfect Partner Award from Plymouth Music Zone!

Plymouth Music Zone worked with us on the song and music for our innovative immersive vision film, “Open Wide and Step Inside”.

The film is the first in the world to use immersive vision technology (where the film is shown in a ‘dome’ theatre with images all around the audience) to engage with five to seven-year olds about looking after their teeth. This is a key age group, because by seven children should be starting to clean their teeth without supervision and making good choices about what they eat and drink, and when.

Geoffrey the Giant who, with his friend Mouse, lives in the iconic Smeaton Tower on The Hoe in Plymouth. Geoffrey has been eating too many sweets and drinking too many fizzy drinks, hasn’t been cleaning his teeth properly and has not visited the dentist – and he has a toothache.

His friend Mouse persuades him to visit Daisy the Dentist who, with her magic wand which turns into dental instruments, finds the problem and gives Geoffrey a filling. Along with speaking teeth, Fluoride the Superhero and a catchy song, “Open Wide and Step Inside” looks set to make an important contribution to oral health education around the world.

The cast of the film includes members of staff from the Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise and Peninsula Dental School. The main character Geoffrey is played by Mark Bignall from rehabilitation charity Hamoaze House and children from local primary schools formed the choir for the song.

The Perfect Partner Award recognises the importance of partnership work to Plymouth Music Zone’s success.

The award was made to Wendy Smith and Nicola Brown, who accepted the award on behalf of Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise. Nicola said: “Partnerships such as the one we enjoy with Plymouth Music Zone are vital to our ongoing work in the community raising awareness about good oral health, and the work we do to support the training of future dentists. It is great that Plymouth Music Zone and our community engagement activities both started in Devonport. From that start both organisations have gone on to make a difference across the city and beyond.”