The inaugural Oral Hygiene By Design award 2015 offers BSDHT members the opportunity to submit ideas for a patient oral hygiene education tool.
Prospective designs should take an innovative approach to oral hygiene education and must be portable, intended either for chairside use or for patients to take away to encourage good oral hygiene behaviours at home.
Entrants are encouraged to incorporate a range of commonly recommended oral hygiene practices, such as correct brushing technique, use of a fluoride toothpaste, advice on diet and eating habits and the role of sugar-free gum after eating and drinking – especially when on the go.
BSDHT President, Michaela O’Neill, says: “As dental hygienists and those dually qualified in dental hygiene and therapy you play a vital role in helping patients to improve their oral hygiene and overall oral health.
“We have some truly wonderful prizes to give away, including the opportunity to work with a professional designer and production team to bring your tool to life and launch it to dental hygienists and therapists nationwide.
“As a leading association representing thousands of dental hygienists and therapists, we know our members are both extremely inventive and passionate about oral health so we are very excited to see what you can come up with.”
In addition to being open for existing BSDHT members, those who join before submitting their application can also take part in the award. To become a member of the BSDHT you can visit www.bsdht.org.uk/membership
With one in four adults in the UK admitting that they do not brush twice a day, and one in ten confessing that they sometimes forget to brush altogether, the Oral Hygiene By Design Award aims to help you further engage with, and educate, your patients to adopt good oral hygiene routines, even after they leave your practice.
The winners will be announced at the BDIA Dental Showcase, in Birmingham, in October. The first place winner will receive the exclusive opportunity to bring their design to life in partnership with the BSDHT, WOHP and a designer, and the winning design will be launched to and used by clinicians nationwide in 2016.
“We are delighted to partner with WOHP to launch this new award and to help make your ideal oral hygiene education aid become a reality,” Ms O’Neill adds.
Entries will be appraised by a panel of judges, including BSDHT President, Michaela O’Neill, an expert marketer from WOHP, key opinion leaders from the dental profession and a representative from the design world. The panel will ultimately select three winners – Gold, Silver and Bronze. All winners will receive a generous financial grant towards their education, as well as a one year supply of sugar-free gum for their clinic.
Global WOHP Senior Manager, Matthew Kent, adds: “WOHP is proud to be working alongside the BSDHT to recognise and celebrate clinicians in their role as the gatekeepers of oral hygiene education and instruction.
“The Oral Hygiene By Design Award 2015 allows us to continue our efforts to improve oral health by creating new resources to support the important work we do each day with patients. I encourage all members of the BSDHT to apply!”
The idea for the Oral Hygiene By Design Award 2015 was born from insights drawn from a survey conducted by WOHP at the BSDHT Oral Health Conference & Exhibition in Liverpool last year. More than 90 per cent of the dental hygienists and those dually qualified in dental hygiene and therapy surveyed said that they use materials or props to support oral hygiene instruction, but many respondents suggested that they would benefit from having one support tool in which all the information needed was clearly presented in a single, easy to use resource.
The application form and further details on how to enter, judging criteria and prizes can be found on the WOHP website - http://www.wrigleyoralhealthcare.co.uk
All entries must be received by 23:59hrs (BST) on August 31, 2015. Supporting documents sent by post must arrive no later than September 7, 2015.