National Smile Month
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National Smile Month is the United Kingdom's largest oral health campaign, held annually across May and June.[1] Formerly "National Smile Week" it is now one of the biggest not-for-profit dental health events in Europe; it attracts thousands of event coordinators and reaches millions of people with oral health information. National Smile Month is run by the Oral Health Foundation, a UK-based oral health charity. In 2021 the campaign will take place between May 17 and June 17.[1]
The "Smile 77" project was launched in 1977, as a week-long campaign in the West Midlands. Poet Pam Ayres wrote the poem I Wish I'd Looked After Me Teeth for the event – a poem that would later be voted into the top 10 of a BBC poll to find the Nation's 100 Favourite poems. This event was repeated the following year, then the first National Smile Week was held in 1979.[2]
'Eat Well Stay Biting Fit' was the theme of the 1984 Smile Week with a launch at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden, where around £3.5 million worth of press coverage was generated during the campaign. Two good-food buses toured London throughout the week, teaching children the art of sugar-free cooking and giving tasters to 2000 hungry pupils.
Chairman of the northern branch Gerry Dobbs, a general dental practitioner and long term member of the Foundation became Chairman in 1984 and presided over a period of high-profile PR activity.
This included the distribution of a 'Secret Identification File' containing information on many aspects of dental Identity's, distributed to 1,000 journalists. The 'Selecting a Dentist' leaflet, also produced as part of the Smile Week campaign, was one of the most successful ever and generated mass national newspaper coverage. It helped the Foundation turnover to surpass £100,000 for the first time in its history. The 1988 theme of 'Your Dentist Cares' produced over £1,000 worth of media coverage and notably featured a jingle written and performed for the Foundation by the group Fascinating Aïda. The campaign continued to hold a strong profile throughout the 1990s and to the present day.