Promoting oral health promotion within community settings
The Dental Outreach Team (DOT) was re-formed in 2021 to co-ordinate and deliver community outreach projects and clinical interventions with PDSE. The team provides and promotes oral health promotion within community settings and develops projects and initiatives across the South West Peninsula. The Dental Outreach Team are also key in providing support for the many research projects that are undertaken by PDSE.
Inter-Professional Engagement (IPE)
IPE introduces students to core academic skills in exploring, searching and selecting evidence-based information as well as developing community awareness to better understand their role in the community and healthcare setting. Students work with many different community and healthcare organisations including Barnardos, Plymouth Community Homes and Improving Lives Plymouth.
Open Wide & Step Inside
Open wide & Step inside is a programme that has been aimed at supporting teachers to deliver key oral health messages to children aged 4 to 7. Using specially designed animations and resources, children are introduced to ‘Geoffrey the Giant’ who quickly learns the consequences of not looking after his teeth. With the help of friends, Geoffrey learns the importance of oral health and regular visits to his Dentist.
To find out more about the Open Wide & Step Inside programme, please contact us by email: dentaloutreach@plymouth.ac.uk
The British Antarctic Survey Medical Unit (BASMU)
Each year BASMU send Doctors to support Arctic/Antarctic research teams during their ‘over wintering’ period. The Dental Outreach Team work with the medical unit to deliver a 4 days course which gives an overview of common dental emergency and trauma cases and their treatment. They also learn the basics of dental anatomy and charting, radiography anaesthesia and tooth extraction.
Oral Health Champion Training
Our 2-hour training sessions introduce oral health in a way that is interesting and understandable, we focus on what caused dental disease and how it can be prevented. The aim of the training sessions it to give people the confidence to talk to their peers about good oral health and tools to help people look after their own mouths. We also discuss the importance of regular self-assessments to detect early signs of mouth cancer.
Since January 2021, we have delivered sessions to local charity PAUSE and Plymouths Glenbourne unit. We are looking forward to delivering more sessions to organisations including the Cornwall Dietetics team and Plymouth Speech and Language team.
If you would like more information on how to get involved with IPE or Dental Outreach projects please email dentaloutreach@plymouth.ac.uk.
