Healthy Smile Team

25/12/2025

23/12/2025

23/12/2025

Young people leaving care will now be able to access free dental care, prescriptions and eye tests until their 25th birthday, following a new announcement from the government.

This is about dignity as much as dentistry. Extending free dental care to 25 is a hugely positive step for young people leaving care, many of whom have grown up facing real barriers to accessing dental services at a critical time in their lives.

Read the story on our website for more information.

23/12/2025

To fix his frostbite! ⛄️

22/12/2025

🎄There’s something fun happening in every corner of the county this month - here are a few links to groups and organisations in each of our areas that are offering activities and support to families this holiday season, have fun! 😊🎄

Stoke-on-Trent –
✨See the flyer below for the Festive Fun activities happening at Family Hubs across Stoke-on-Trent this week.
✨https://eequ.org/stokeontrenthafwiththehubbfoundation

Staffordshire -
✨https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Education/Educational-awards-benefits/Holiday-activities-and-food/Holiday-Activities-and-Food.aspx
✨https://www.visitstaffordshire.com/whats-on/seasonal-events/christmas-new-year/

Shropshire -
✨https://directory.shropshire.gov.uk/fis/
✨https://next.shropshire.gov.uk/holiday-activities-and-food-programme-haf/haf-holiday-clubs/

Telford & Wrekin –
✨https://www.telfordfamilyhubs.co.uk/whats-on/drop-ins/
✨https://hhah.telford.gov.uk/

19/12/2025

We’re proud to share that the Healthy Smile Team is visiting local settings to carry out quality assurance visits and provide ongoing training support for our Brilliant Brushers programme.

Pictured below are the teams from Beresford Memorial School in Leek, Staffordshire and St Albans Little Learners CIC Day Nursery in Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent who both recently attended their new staff training sessions with Kirsty.

✨ These visits help ensure children are developing strong oral health routines and receiving the encouragement they need to keep their smiles shining bright.
Parents, please don't forget to keep up with the brushing at home too! 🪥

Thank you to all the staff who make us so welcome, you're doing a great job! 💖

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16/12/2025

🎄✨ This Christmas, add a little sparkle to your stockings. A new toothbrush makes the perfect gift for family members and even pets because healthy smiles (and wagging tails) is something to celebrate all year round. What stocking surprises are you choosing this year? Share yours below👇

15/12/2025

✨ Elfie Smile is back and he wanted to share some healthy, tooth friendly snacks and drinks with you all.

He knows how tempting it is to eat all the treats and chocolates this time of year, but remember to keep sugary foods and drinks to meal times and choose a tooth friendly snack in-between meals if you’re feeling a little peckish!!

12/12/2025

✨🦷 Congratulations and a huge THANK YOU to our amazing early years settings who recently aced their Brilliant Brushers supervised toothbrushing quality assurance visits!

It was wonderful to see so many happy, healthy smiles shining bright 😁 Keep brushing, keep smiling, and keep sparkling! ✨

🦷✨ Brilliant Brushers supervised toothbrushing programme is an evidence-based initiative helping little ones build healthy toothbrushing habits for life.

We are proud to be able offer this programme to eligible nurseries and schools across Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, creating brighter smiles and healthier futures every day 😁🌟

Stoke-on-Trent

🪥 Watermill Special School
🪥 Busy Bugs Day Nursery
🪥 Smallthorne Primary School
🪥 Greenways Primary Academy
🪥 Harpfield Primary Academy
🪥 Heron Cross Primary School

Staffordshire:

🪥Chadsmead Primary School
🪥Forest Hills Primary School
🪥West Hill Pre-School
🪥Hayes Meadow Primary School

Shropshire:

🪥Meadow Farm Pre-school
🪥Our Lady and St Oswald Catholic School Oswestry
🪥Holy Trinity Primary School Oswestry
🪥Buntingsdale Primary School Shropshire

Telford & Wrekin:

🪥 Small Talk Nursery
🪥 Twiggy’s Day Nursery Madeley
🪥 Lantern Academy
🪥 Wrockwardine Wood Infants
🪥 Twiggy’s Day Nursery Sutton Hill
🪥Sir Alexander Fleming Primary School and Nursery
🪥Randlay Primary School
🪥Donnington Wood Infant School and Nursery
🪥Hadley Under and Over 5’s
🪥Shortwood Primary School and Nursery
🪥Windmill Primary School and Nursery
🪥Hadley Learning Community Primary and Nursery
🪥The Bridge School
🪥Wrekin View Primary School
🪥Early Milestones Nursery

12/12/2025

It is great to see West Hill Pre-School championing healthy smiles. Thank you for participating in Brilliant Brushers supervised toothbrushing programme, you are making a real difference. If you are participating in Brilliant Brushers, please share your sessions so we can highlight them too. 💫 🪥

10/12/2025

🦷 Mouth Care Matters – Visit Our Stand at County Hospital Today!

We’re set up and ready to welcome staff, patients, and visitors throughout the day.
Come along to our Mouth Care Matters stand to:
✔ Learn how good mouth care supports overall health
✔ Pick up helpful resources and guidance
✔ Ask questions and chat with our friendly team
✔ Find out how we’re improving oral care across the hospital

Whether you’ve got a quick minute or want a deeper conversation, we’d love to see you!
Let’s work together to make mouth care a priority. 💙

09/12/2025

Alongside Rhona Eskander, I was featured in a Daily Mail article last month talking about some of the trends we’re seeing around “natural” ways to clean your teeth.

It’s something I’ve spoken about for years, because while these trends often look harmless, some of them can genuinely put patients’ oral health at risk.

🛢️ Oil pulling

This one pops up every few years. It involves swishing coconut oil around the mouth. And yes, it’s an ancient practice, but clinically, it’s a waste of time.
There’s no strong evidence it prevents decay, improves gum health or whitens teeth. A Cochrane Review found no meaningful benefit over brushing with a fluoride toothpaste.

⚫🍏 Brushing teeth with charcoal & apple cider vinegar

Charcoal and apple cider vinegar often get grouped together because the issue is exactly the same: they damage teeth.

Charcoal might remove some surface stains, but it’s abrasive, it can scrub away enamel permanently. And once enamel is gone, it doesn’t grow back.

Apple cider vinegar is highly acidic. It softens enamel and accelerates erosion. Any “whitening” effect is really just enamel loss, not a healthier smile.

Neither contains fluoride.
Neither strengthens teeth.
And neither comes close to what trained dental professionals can safely achieve.

💬 And then there’s fluoride…

Still the internet’s favourite myth. Yet the science is overwhelming:
✔ Reduces decay by around 24% (Cochrane Review)
✔ Strengthens enamel and makes it more resistant to acid
✔ Safe at recommended levels
✔ Fluoride-free pastes simply remove the main protective ingredient

Here’s the bigger picture:
We’re trained for a reason.
Dentistry cannot be replaced by quick fixes at home, no matter how appealing the trend looks on social media. These fads don’t cut out the need for professional care, and they certainly don’t match the evidence behind what we do every day.

If we help patients cut through the noise and focus on what actually works - fluoride toothpaste, sensible brushing, reduced sugar, regular check-ups - we prevent most of the problems that bring people into the chair.

Trends come and go.
But enamel doesn’t grow back.

B x

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