as ardent advocates for oral health . With sugar and childhood obesity firmly on the national agenda and in the public psyche we too have a real opportunity to address health inequality in a more collaborative manner . Together with the political and institutional appetite to re-direct resources to a prevention agenda , learning from and building on local success and best practice , a real desire to work across the health and social care landscape I believe that we have the right conditions to create and deliver a national ambition for a SMILE4LIFE
DP : What do you hope the brand “ SMILE4LIFE ” will deliver in terms of your national ambition ? SH : Having a national identity or brand that offers a clear intent and brings together the various complementary health promotion endeavours gives us a greater chance to sustain local oral health programmes . It takes us beyond local leadership and personalities into a visible national commitment . “ SMILE4LIFE ”…. plagiarised with full acknowledgment to Mel Smith and Mel Catleugh in Cumbria who along with Jasmine Murphy in Leicester City sparked the whole concept …, have already provided us not only with a vision but tangible proof of what can be achieved through a corporate identity and crossprofessional collaboration .
DP : How do you envisage translating national ambition to the regional level ? SH : The aim of the national umbrella campaign of SMILE4LIFE is to provide that missing link , give us a national identity , galvanise the regional authorities and wider healthcare force to take heed and take action - sustainable action . We have already identified some great local schemes in England that we could , and should , bring to the national stage and spread to other regions . The real bright stars are the original SMILE4LIFE in Cumbria , Healthy Teeth Happy Smiles in Leicester , along with Dental Superheroes in Barnsley , Baby Teeth Do Matter in Manchester and In Practice Prevention in Hull . The original Cumbrian “ SMILE4LIFE ” programme and the Leicester “ Healthy Teeth Happy Smiles ” provide excellent rural and urban examples of schemes that focus primarily on child health . Both schemes offer us models that could , and should , be adopted by Local Government Authorities , supported by NHS England and PHE .
In addition , looking to our Celtic colleagues in the Devolved Administrations there are templates for successful national programmes , regional delivery and local impact . The implementation of Designed to Smile in Wales and Childsmile in Scotland , both nationally co-ordinated and funded programmes , providing community-based fluoride and tooth-brushing . Both are
delivering real dividends in child oral health and Childsmile in Scotland has achieved a 50 % reduction in dental decay in some of the most vulnerable children in Scotland . The ambition for our national hub is to support regional forums in creating and sustaining the most appropriate programmes for their areas , match up prospective schemes with established schemes to help with the start-up , using evidence base and if possible look for economies of scale . We can avoid duplication of effort by sharing literature formats , templates and project business cases , whilst looking to exploit any national level opportunities for corporate communications . The advantage of national recognition is that it will make involving the wider workforce and establishing regional oral health champions easier .
DP : How did the original SMILE4LIFE start ? SH : The dental health of children in Cumbria and Lancashire has been worse than in many other parts of the country . The local PHE team recognised that delivery of health improvement messages was variable and the overall healthcare environment was not universally supportive of good oral health , this was despite oral health being identified as a Local Indicator in the Cumbria Local Area Agreement and in the Lancashire Children and Young People ’ s Plan in 2009-2012 .
The amazing team behind SMILE4LIFE ( Mel Smith and Mel Catleugh ) developed their themes and messaging concept in conjunction with the local communities and wider health and social care providers . The aim was to embed the messages of oral health improvement in children ’ s settings throughout Cumbria and Lancashire , making it part of the overall best start in life , using social and support group environments to discuss and highlight the benefits of diet , tooth brushing and dental checks . A range of health promotion activities and literature were produced and as a result of their efforts , SMILE4LIFE is now successfully integrated within Cumbria ’ s children ’ s social care settings . The aspiration to reduce dental caries in young children and laying the foundations for good oral health throughout u
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