Smile campaign will give confidence to pupils

Oct 14 2009 by Wendy Scott, Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser

MONKLANDS pupils can “Smile with Confidence” thanks to a new DVD and oral health resource they helped produce with NHS Lanarkshire.

The educational DVD and teaching materials, Smile with Confidence, will teach children the importance of looking after their teeth.

And the health bosses behind the move believe this will go a long way to help improve the oral health of young people throughout the Monklands.

Designed and produced by NHS Lanarkshire’s health promotion team and local schools – with local pupils also starring in the DVD - the new resource was launched recently.

And it will now be incorporated into the school curriculum as soon as possible.

Albert Yeung, consultant in dental public health for Lanarkshire said that the campaign will have an important role to play in the Monklands.

He continued: “Smile with Confidence will help promote good oral health for both pupils and teachers.

“In addition to increasing knowledge and awareness of good oral hygiene, and how to prevent dental decay, the resource aims to change the school environment in terms of oral health and nutrition.

“It’s easy to use and will help support school staff to improve knowledge, strengthen beliefs and change attitudes to oral health.”

Smile with Confidence has already proved a winner after it led to NHS Lanarkshire’s oral health team receiving the Patron’s Prize at the 2009 annual conference of the National Oral Health Promotion Group.

Celia Watt, senior health promotion officer (Oral Health) for the county, added:

“This new resource will help promote the message of how important it is to look after your mouth.

“By working with local schools we identified gaps in oral health knowledge, therefore we’re confident it meets the needs of the pupils.

“We carried out a pilot with nine schools in Lanarkshire and the feedback from both the pupils and teachers was very positive. The pupils enjoyed learning about keeping their mouths healthy.

“This pilot also showed that Smile with Confidence is an effective tool to promote the improvement of oral health.”

The Smile with Confidence DVD and teaching materials will now be distributed to all schools in north and south Lanarkshire.

Special needs establishments will also be given a Makaton - a method of communication using signs and symbols - version of the DVD.