National Smile Month is the chance to smile. It’s also the chance to take a look at your own oral care routine. There are also lots of people in your family or community who might need your help.  Children and older people often need help and support to remind them avoid how to keep their mouths and teeth healthy.

It’s also a great idea to suggest running a National Smile Month event in your local school, workplace or community. Remember, around three out of every ten people in the UK will be suffering from tooth decay right now, so get involved!

How You Can Make A Difference

The basics of oral health are simple, and so are the ways to get involved with National Smile Month. Keep a keen eye out in your local newspapers for events being held and take the family along for a fun-filled educational day out! If that’s not something that puts a smile on your face, here are a few things that might tick the box.

Cut Down

If you’re a stickler for sugary foods and drinks, National Smile Month is a good time to take a minute to think about what it’s doing to your smile. Did you know - Eating or drinking any highly coloured foods or drinks such as cola, curry, red wine tea coffee can stain teeth? Perhaps during the campaign have one less sweet or one less can of pop every day. Every little makes a difference!

Kick Out Bad Habits

Smoking is really bad for your oral health. Like really bad. It’ll stain your teeth, affect your gums and even worse it’s still the largest contributing risk factor for mouth cancer. Yikes! So for the duration of the month, take the opportunity to cut down, maybe even quit! There’s loads of help out there if you need it.

Get on yer bike!

Studies have shown people who exercise more and stay healthy are 40 per cent less likely to develop tooth-threatening gum infections that could lead to gum disease. It also found that not exercising, not keeping to a normal body weight and unhealthy eating habits made a person much more likely to get advanced gum disease.

Spend four minutes in your day brushing

Four minutes doesn’t sound like a lot, but you’d be surprised how many people don't brush for the recommended two minutes twice a day. Many skip brushing at least once a day too! So, the challenge is to ensure the whole family are brushing for two minutes twice a day. You never know, you might even keep it up after the campaign!

Pay your dentist a visit

Ok ok, we know many people don’t like going to the dentist, but if there’s ever a time to use our smile on a stick to generate a big fake smile, National Smile Month is that time. There’s no-one better equipped to make your smile sparkle than the dentist, so getting a quick check-up really could bring a smile to your face.