International dental charity Dentaid is searching for hard working volunteers to join its latest trip to Malawi.  The team of dentists, dental nurses and therapists will travel to Malawi from April 30 – May 16, 2020 to provide emergency dental treatment and oral health education programmes for hundreds of people.

Many of you will know me as a tutor on various courses offered by Dental Nurse Network or as the quality assurance lead for the oral health qualification, but I’m also practice manager of a five-surgery dental practice. I’m writing this article because I’m aware that there are many nurses out there who want to progress in their careers and become practice managers but who have never been given the opportunity. I wanted to share my story with you and tell you to never give up hope.

What are oral health workshops?

Oral health workshops are educational sessions that are held with the aim of promoting good oral health by improving people’s knowledge of how to maintain a healthy mouth.

Working on a paediatric clinic in a large dental hospital, I experience nervous children day in, day out. Most of our patients have been referred to us because they’re too nervous to have treatment under local anaesthetic at their general practice; they’re often accompanied by parents or guardians who say that they would like their child to be put to sleep because they’re sure that they won’t get through the treatment without general anaesthetic. However, putting children to sleep carries its own risks, and with our current policies, it can mean an amendment to their treatment plan. 

National Smile Month is a long-running campaign organised by the Oral Health Foundation (a UK-based charity) with the aim of promoting good oral health worldwide. This year’s campaign is approaching quickly – it runs from 13th May to 13th June 2019.