A free dental pop-up has delivered oral health support to children in Luton. Community Dental Services CIC (CDS) partnered with Luton Borough Council to deliver the free pop-up dental clinic at the Park Town Family Hub.

The clinic was attended by almost 100 local children under 10-years-old. The session combined oral health advice, information on healthy eating and a ‘lift the lip’ assessment by the dental team. Any children found to require further care were signposted to a general dental practitioner or offered appointments with CDS.

Luton has above the national average number of children experiencing tooth decay and the initiative was designed to focus on helpful prevention advice for families around key oral health messages and awareness of healthy eating, combined with a dental assessment. Where appropriate an application of fluoride varnish was also offered – an important preventative treatment for many children. The session took place during the Easter holiday, making it accessible and well-attended. Free toothbrushes and toothpaste were also handed out for all the children to take home.

Helen Paisley, CDS CEO, said, “A pop-up clinic like this is a fantastic initiative and we were delighted to be involved and get out of our clinics and into the community. We know that many children, especially the ‘covid generation’ have struggled to access and see a dentist regularly.

“A pop-up clinic means we can share oral health information, explain and show toothbrushing techniques in a fun and engaging way and provide a simple ‘lift the lip’ assessment to see if any treatment is needed. It is also a really valuable way for children to become acclimatised to seeing the dentist as we know an increasing lack of acclimatisation is contributing to children being more dentally anxious when they do come to our clinics needing care.”

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