Visitors to the British Dental Health Foundation’s website – www.dentalhealth.org – have increased by a staggering 155 per cent in the last year alone. After an online re-launch more than 12 months ago, the charity believes the coverage of oral health issues in national media has played a significant part in people wanting to know more about the health of their mouth.
Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter OBE, said: “Throughout the years we have strongly invested in developing high quality online platforms and materials based on core values of original content, delivered regularly by reliable and trustworthy sources.
“The website contains an extraordinary amount of content for users, which is constantly updated and added to by the British Dental Health Foundation's team of writers and dentally-qualified experts. The ‘Tell Me About' series gives users an extensive hub of information relating to a variety of oral health issues, ranging from routine procedures and treatments, to various oral conditions and diseases. The information is laid out in a clear question and answer format and has all been approved by the Word Centre for Plain English.
“Until now, our Tell Me About information has mostly been accessed in print format as part of the self-titled patient leaflet series. More than one million copies are sold to dental practices and hospitals throughout the UK every year, as a source of trusted information that can be handed out to patients. But the way we access information has dramatically changed. What we are seeing now is online overtake print as the preferred choice for people to learn more about the health of their mouths.”
Throughout the latter part of 2014, the British Dental Health Foundation will be translating their website into nine languages, to reflect and meet the demand for oral health information and advice from non-English speaking members of the public.
The website’s entire archive of oral health information will be available in Arabic, Russian, German, Hindi, Spanish, Chinese, French, Polish and Portuguese.
“A multi-lingual website is a tremendous step forward for the British Dental Health Foundation,” Dr Carter added.
“Communication problems continue to act as a barrier when educating people about their health. By translating the information on our website we will not only be able to open the door for those in the UK whose first language may not be English, but to millions more around the world.”