Poster competition launched to raise awareness of the importance of toothbrushing

Community Dental Services CIC in partnership with Lincolnshire County Council’s Public Health team, launch a poster design competition to Lincolnshire children, aged 5 – 11 years to help raise awareness of the importance of developing good oral health habits from a young age.

Supporting The Oral Health Foundation’s National Smile Month taking place between 15th May to 15th June, CDS and LCC are asking children to submit their designs, with the winning one being used on educational posters and resources throughout the county. The winner will also receive an electric toothbrush presented to them by the Red Arrows.

Jennifer Baitup is the Oral Health Improvement Manager for CDS Lincolnshire who promote the importance of good oral health and supervised toothbrushing programmes within early year’s settings and schools, as well as promoting good oral health in children and adults with special needs and in care settings: “With increasing numbers of children experiencing dental decay by the age of 5, National Smile Month 2023 is all about shining a light on the importance of brushing our teeth. We are asking children to design a poster - it could be about brushing teeth (why we need to brush / how we should brush) or about tooth friendly foods and drinks. We are excited to see the design and use the winning design on our educational resources. We’re also delighted that Lincolnshire’s very own Red Arrows will present the winner with their prize.”

Cllr Mrs Patricia Bradwell OBE, executive member for children’s services at Lincolnshire County Council, added: “Good oral health is particularly important for children and young people, and National Smile Month is the ideal opportunity to remind them of the benefits of regular brushing. Aside from our poster competition, there’s lots of ways to get involved and inspire your youngsters to take good care of their teeth, keeping a healthy smile on their face.”

To enter the competition, children aged 5 to 11 must design an A4 poster promoting the importance of looking after our teeth, whether it's about brushing, eating tooth friendly foods and drinks or both. The posters should be created with pencils / pens / crayons / paints, but no glitter or stuck on extras and submitted by 5pm on Thursday 15th June. The winning design will be used on educational resources throughout Lincolnshire. Further information and rules from ohimp.lincolnshire@cds-cic.nhs.uk