Training

The Dental Ambassador programme delivers a sustainable peer led project for adults and young people with learning disability, to empower them to share information with others; for example, at home with parents and siblings, in the work place, in school or college as well as with other local disability organisations as well as developing further understanding of improving their own oral health.

There are estimated to be 1 million adults registered with a disability in the UK with only a small proportion (around 20%) known to disability services. While high quality treatment services are available in the UK, there is a lack of specific resource for community-based oral health improvement. Working in partnership and developing a person centered approach to delivering health based initiatives has far reaching impacts for communities, organisations and individuals.

Participants built their knowledge each week and created an individual portfolio which reflected them and their personal likes and dislikes. This person centered approach ensured the whole group was involved and motivated to learn more. Every session was fun, lively and interactive!

The topics covered included:
> Why teeth are important
> Better brushing
> Diet and making simple swaps
> Impact of sugar and oral health

We develop games and activities which help to consolidate learning, such as oral health pairs, talking tiles, individual eat well plate and much more.

The supervised tooth brushing programme is specifically aimed at schools and other early years settings who would like to establish supervised brushing within the classroom setting. This approach is especially valuable for those children who may not experience active support in the home environment. It helps to ensure children are able to brush their teeth on a regular basis and encourages them to adopt effective tooth brushing habits which last a lifetime.

Establishing supervised brushing in schools and other early years settings demonstrates a positive and proactive approach to oral health improvement and engages directly with staff, children and their families. The approach is supportive and constructive, helping to change some of the negative perceptions which may surround dentistry or dental experiences.

The supervised brushing programme offers a fun and engaging way of incorporating regular brushing into daily routines. Staff are encouraged to support children as they learn the skills to brush independently and effectively.

Full training and resources are given to support this programme. Please contact us for further information.

We are hugely proud of the training which we are currently delivering, which has resulted in 215 people becoming ‘Dental Champions’ in the last twelve months! This means they can share key oral health messages with other people with confidence. We have worked with groups of people from different sectors and backgrounds including:
> School nurses
> Health visitors
> School groups
> School council
> Plymouth Albion
…….and many more!

Interested? Contact us for more details.