Charities join forces to offer oral health workshops to over 20,000 children

After a successful Keep Stoke Smiling pilot project during the last academic year, UHNM Charity and Stoke City Community Trust are delighted to be widening the initiative out to all primary schools in North Staffordshire.

The workshops will now be available to all children in years 2–6, with ambitions to make the county’s early years schools 'Fizz Free' and introduce ‘Toothbrushing Clubs’ to as many schools as possible.
Young people in Staffordshire with be given tooth brushing instruction alongside diet advice so they are empowered to make positive choices when it comes to their dental health.

Director of Communications and Charity at UHNM, Lisa Thomson said, “We are delighted to play our part in getting the young people in our region smiling and to address one of the major health inequalities, child oral health. Working in partnership with Stoke City Community Trust and schools we are able to reach thousands of children and inspire them to keep their teeth and their smile healthy.”

The support from Keep Stoke Smiling Founder Dr Karen Juggins, Consultant Orthodontist at Royal Stoke University Hospital and her clinical team has allowed the project to gain credibility very quickly. Feedback from partners and everyone involved has been overwhelmingly positive

Dr Juggins said,” I am delighted to be working in partnership with Stoke City Football Club and UHNM Charity who share our vision to improve the dental of children and young adults in Staffordshire. Sadly, Stoke-on-Trent sits in the bottom quarter of the league table for decayed teeth in young children. Projects like this are essential to meet this urgent need in our community.”

The partnerships sees UHNM Charity and the Stoke City Community Trust work together to deliver valuable community messages. The sessions offer a hands-on workshop tailored for junior school children. Topics include; tooth brushing, checking food labels, fluoride toothpaste and showing the dangers of sugary fizzy drinks.

Adrian Hurst, Head of Community at Stoke City Football Club said, “We use a variety of the Footballs Club's assets and interventions to help transform the lives of young people both on and off the pitch. We really enjoyed delivering the pilot KSS project and the Trust are looking forward to making the project bigger and better with the support of the UHNM Charity we will continue to provide key health education messages within our county over the next 12 months”.

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