Denplan, part of Simplyhealth, is delighted to announce a new partnership with Dentaid, to improve access to vital oral healthcare provision to those most in need around the UK.
Denplan will be working closely with Dentaid, a charity that works to improve oral health in the UK and overseas, for the next 12 months. The investment means the charity can create and safeguard up to 25 mobile ‘Denplan Outreach Clinics’ for homeless and vulnerable people across the UK.
These clinics are vital at a time when government reports are showing an increasing inequality in access to healthcare.
Denplan will also be supporting an extension to Dentaid’s BrightBites, an oral health education scheme which teaches children about the importance of looking after their teeth. With government statistics showing an estimated cost of £33 million for hospital admissions in 0–19-year-olds for tooth extractions due to tooth decay this is an increasingly important area of focus.* Denplan’s support will specifically enable Dentaid to develop education materials for pre-school aged children and their parents/carers.
Catherine Rutland, Denplan’s clinical director, comments, “I know the huge difference Dentaid’s mobile clinics makes to the clients they treat; people who otherwise may not have the opportunity to see a dentist. I’m so pleased that through our support the charity can provide an additional 25 clinics that will specifically target the most vulnerable in our society, enabling them to access the oral healthcare they need.
I’m also pleased that Denplan is supporting the BrightBites early years oral health programme because we know that ensuring a child has the best start to their dental care can have a significant influence on their oral health for life. As dentists, we’re also very aware of the high levels of dental issues in children and know we shouldn’t underestimate the importance of teaching children about good oral health at the earliest opportunity.”
Andy Evans, Dentaid CEO adds, “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Denplan. This will enable us to provide outreach dental care for more of the most vulnerable people in our society. Thanks to Denplan we will be able to send our mobile dental units to new locations where volunteers will provide dental treatments for people experiencing homelessness. We’ll also be able to help other hard-to-reach groups who are living with the misery of untreated toothache. Since the pandemic, demand for our work has soared and our help is needed more than ever.
Furthermore, we’ll be able to work with Denplan to develop our BrightBites oral health education programme for early years. Sadly, a quarter of children have dental decay by the time they start school, with children in areas of higher deprivation more likely to be suffering. Through our contacts and charity partners we plan to teach children and their families about the importance of dental health to improve their chances of having a healthy smile.”
All Dentaid’s clinics are staffed by dental industry volunteers and they are always on the lookout for more people to support their work of providing emergency dental treatment for those in need. For more information, or to volunteer, contact ukclinics@dentaid.org.
Denplan is continuing to ensure that every day, every decision we make, and every action – big or small – not only helps improve the health of our company, customers and communities, but also the health of everyone and everything we hold dear. For more information about our community impact, visit parent company Simplyhealth’s website www.simplyhealth.co.uk/about-us/community-impact
*source Hospital tooth extractions of 0 to 19 year olds - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).