- National Smile Month
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National Smile Month (formerly National Smile Week) is a dental health event held in the United Kingdom, traditionally in May, but now annually throughout May and June. In 2012 the campaign will take place between May 20 and June 20.[1] It is one of the biggest not-for-profit dental health events in Europe; it attracts thousands of event coordinators and reaches millions of people with oral health information. National Smile Month is run by the British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF), a UK-based charity.
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Origin and early years
The event was launched in 1977, as a week-long campaign in the West Midlands. Poet Pam Ayres wrote the poem I Wish I'd Looked After Me Teeth for the event – a poem that would later be voted into the top 10 of a BBC poll to find the Nation's 100 Favourite poems.
'Eat Well Stay Biting Fit' was the theme of the 1984 Smile Week with a launch at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden, where around £3.5 million worth of press coverage was generated during the campaign. Two good-food buses toured London throughout the week, teaching children the art of sugar-free cooking and giving tasters to 2000 hungry pupils.
Chairman of the northern branch Gerry Dobbs, a general dental practitioner and long term member of the Foundation became Chairman in 1984 and presided over a period of high-profile PR activity.
This included the distribution of a 'Secret Identification File' containing information on many aspects of dental Identity's, distributed to 1,000 journalists. The 'Selecting a Dentist' leaflet, also produced as part of the Smile Week campaign, was one of the most successful ever and generated mass national newspaper coverage. It helped the Foundation turnover to surpass £100,000 for the first time in its history. The 1988 theme of 'Your Dentist Cares' produced over £1,000 worth of media coverage and notably featured a jingle written and performed for the Foundation by the group Fascinating Aida. The campaign continued to hold a strong profile throughout the 1990s and to the present day.
New format and key messages
Due to its popularity, National Smile Week became National Smile Month in 2006, running through the months of May and June. With the aim to improve public awareness in oral and systemic health, the BDHF arrived at three key messages they would replicate during the annual campaigns, they were:
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- Brush your teeth twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste.
- Visit the dentist regularly, as often as they recommend.
- Cut down on the frequency of sugary foods and drinks.
International reach
In 2009 the National Smile Month campaign ran simultaneously in the UK and USA for the first time. The BDHF and its International Dental Health Foundation (IDHF) arm partnered Oral Health America in promoting good oral healthcare. The campaign was judged a success and was estimated to have reached 180,000,000 readers and viewers. The slogan for 2009 was ‘Brush for Health’ and aimed to establish the message of connecting poor oral health with other systemic illnesses.
For the first time, National Smile Month will take place in the United Arab Emirates, proposed for the month of September in 2011.
References
External links
Categories:- British dental organisations
- Health organisations in the United Kingdom
- Medical associations based in the United Kingdom
- Health charities
- Health in the United Kingdom
- May observances
- June observances
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