On their first visit to the school, the second year students discovered that the school did not have access to a dentist and that dental care only happened in an emergency. They also found that a number of the pupils did not clean their teeth, and that several of them had a real fear of dentists.

The students involved pupils and their parents in a number of fun activities designed to address these issues. By engaging the wider family they ensured that good oral health was replicated at home, and that more families were encouraged to seek dental treatment at our Dental Education Facilities.

The pupils were taken on fun ‘dental stations’. At the first, they were asked to brush their teeth and then use a disclosing tablet which contains a vegetable colouring which highlights the areas they missed with their toothbrush, to see how effective their brushing had really been. The second station helped to address fear of the dentist. The pupils were given a special dentist’s outfit to wear and invited to role play as a dentist and look into one of the dental student’s mouth. The third station was all about diet and the effect of sugar on teeth, while the fourth allowed pupils to try different flavoured toothpastes.

For more information on check-up sessions, view the leaflet here