Community engagement

Their work has culminated in a celebration of their projects held during National Smile Month.

In their second year dental students take part in the Inter-Professional Engagement programme, which sees them interact with a variety of groups within the wider community. The IPE scheme is run by the Community Engagement team at the Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise and is designed to give dental students the widest possible experience across a broad social spectrum, while also contributing to oral health awareness and improving access to dental care – especially for the most vulnerable groups in the community.

This year the IPE programme has seen eight diverse projects which have all made a valuable contribution to the community and to the professional education of the participating students. The programme culminated in a symposium where each project was presented to an expert panel including Stephen Hancocks OBE, Editor of the British Dental Journal, Bridget Ashton, a general dental practitioner, Kevin Elliston from Public Health England and Rob Nelder, consultant in public health at Plymouth City Council.