Ben Atkins

02/06/2026

Another National Smile Month flashback.

Back in 2005, Rocky Lane Practice worked with a local primary school as part of what was then called National Smile Week.

The children were asked to design posters promoting good oral health, and it was such a brilliant project to be involved in. As you can see from the posters, they were incredibly creative and, most importantly, managed to communicate many of the key oral health messages.

It was great fun, and it's something I would recommend to any practice.

One of the things I've always loved about National Smile Month is that it encourages dental teams to step beyond the walls of the practice and engage with the people and communities they serve.

Whether that's visiting schools, supporting community groups, running patient education campaigns, or simply having more conversations about prevention with patients.

Twenty years later, the message remains exactly the same.

Prevention works and is simple.
Education matters.
And every conversation about oral health has the potential to make a difference.

If you'd like to get involved in National Smile Month, visit:

https://buff.ly/y3N8P9x

To download the free campaign resources:

https://buff.ly/L4VZMuE

I've loved seeing so many practices getting involved this year and helping to spread these important messages. Long may it continue.

Oral Health Foundation

B x

29/05/2026

As part of National Smile Month, there is one message that has the power to completely change how patients view their oral health.

Many patients still see oral health as being separate from the rest of their health.

Whether it's TV, films, social media or general culture, dentistry is often portrayed as the place you go when something goes wrong. A repair service for broken teeth, toothache and emergencies.

While awareness of the oral-systemic link is growing, many patients still don't fully understand the role oral health plays in their overall health and wellbeing.

That needs to change.

Good oral health is one of the simplest and most accessible ways patients can positively impact their health.

When I'm discussing the oral-systemic link with patients, I try to keep it simple:

Why does oral health matter?

• A healthy mouth helps you eat, speak and smile with confidence.

• Oral disease is driven by inflammation and bacteria. The same inflammation that affects the mouth can have wider effects throughout the body.

• Poor oral health has been linked to conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, respiratory disease and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

• Looking after your mouth isn't just about preventing fillings and extractions. It's about protecting your overall health.

• The good news is that some of the most effective interventions are also some of the simplest: brushing twice daily with fluoride toothpaste andcleaning between the teeth.

• And for patients who need additional support, there are a growing number of preventive treatments and technologies available to help them achieve and maintain better oral health.

I've found that sometimes a simple conversation about this link can flick a switch for patients.

It helps them understand the why behind oral hygiene, and can be enough to empower them to go home and properly engage with their own oral health.

As dental professionals, part of our mission is to reinforce that message.

Oral health isn't separate from general health.

It's a fundamental part of it.

B x

Oral Health Foundation

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26/05/2026

As part of National Smile Month, I wanted to share a brilliant new report from the Oral Health Foundation's Head of Policy & Advocacy, Rachael England DrPH MPH FCGDent.

The report looks at how oral health in the UK has evolved over the past 50 years, but more importantly, where the profession needs to go next.

It touches on a lot of themes that are becoming increasingly important within dentistry:

The shift from treatment to prevention.
The growing links between oral health and systemic health.
Workforce pressures and access challenges.
The need to make better use of the wider dental team.
And the importance of integrating oral health more closely within wider healthcare systems.

One thing that stands out is that while oral health outcomes have improved significantly over the last few decades, inequalities still remain stubbornly high.

That tells us something important.

Improving oral health outcomes requires more than education or access alone. It requires systems that genuinely support prevention, integration and long-term public health.

The future of oral healthcare has to be prevention-led, practical and designed around how people actually live.

And if we’re serious about improving long-term health outcomes, oral health cannot continue to sit separately from the rest of healthcare.

Reports and discussions like this are important because they help move oral health further into mainstream healthcare conversations, where it belongs.

You can download the full report here:
https://buff.ly/V4vJrtH

B x

This landmark report reflects on five decades of progress in oral health and looks ahead to the future of dentistry, prevention and public health in the UK.

19/05/2026

A brilliant afternoon yesterday at the Oral Health Foundation’s Smile Month 50 event in London.

There were some great speakers and discussions throughout the day, including contributions from Prof Tim Newton, Prof Iain Chapple, Dr Fiona Sandom, Anna Smith, Prof Manu Mathur, Dr Elizabeth Shick, Prof Georgios Tsakos, Preetee Hylton, Dr Rachael England.

My job was to host a panel discussion focused on what the next 50 years of oral health could and should look like for the profession.

The conversation deliberately moved beyond dentistry as a silo and explored some of the bigger questions facing the sector over the next 10–20 years.

Workforce redesign.
Prevention vs treatment.
Professional identity.
Access and inequality.
The role of digital dentistry and AI.
And whether services are truly designed around patients’ needs, or around systems.

One thing that became very clear is that these conversations can no longer sit on the fringes of dentistry.

They have to become central to how we think about the future of oral healthcare.

The traditional model of dentistry is under increasing pressure, while public expectations, workforce dynamics and our understanding of oral-systemic health continue to evolve rapidly.

And importantly, the future of dentistry cannot just be built around dentists alone.

It has to fully utilise the wider dental team, embrace prevention properly, and become far better integrated within wider healthcare systems.

That requires buy-in not just from clinicians, but from policymakers, commissioners, educators and professional bodies too.

This is why platforms like the Oral Health Foundation remain so important.

They create space for these conversations to happen publicly, collaboratively and across the whole profession.

The challenge now is making sure the next decade delivers meaningful progress, not just discussion.

B x

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15/05/2026

A little National Smile Month flashback.

I came across this article recently from 2004, back when it was still called Smile Week.

Reading it back made me realise just how long I’ve been involved with the campaign, and how important it felt even then as a relatively young dentist trying to get the practice involved in promoting better oral health within the community.

At Rocky Lane Practice, we tried to make Smile Week something that reached beyond the surgery walls.

We worked with local schools, nurseries, scout groups, healthcare charities, local press, sports clubs and community groups to get people talking about oral health and prevention.

Getting out of the practice and into the community was refreshing and just great fun. Meeting different people, building relationships and seeing the practice become part of the wider community made it such an exciting time for the whole team.

The core message of National Smile Month is still just as important today. Prevention, education and communication remain at the heart of improving oral health outcomes.

And one of the brilliant things about the campaign is how easy the Oral Health Foundation team have made it for practices to take part.

There are loads of free resources available to help practices engage patients and promote good oral health throughout the month.

If you’d like to get involved or find out more about National Smile Month, visit:
https://buff.ly/y3N8P9x

To download the free resources to raise awareness:
https://buff.ly/EbNZ6oc

It would be fantastic to see as many dental teams as possible taking part. It’s such an awesome campaign to be a part of.

B x

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11/05/2026

Today marks the start of the Oral Health Foundation's National Smile Month.

This year is particularly special as it celebrates the campaign’s 50th anniversary - five decades of raising awareness around the importance of oral health and the impact it has on overall health and wellbeing.

For those working in dentistry, it’s a brilliant opportunity to engage patients in conversations around prevention, oral hygiene, diet, healthy habits and long-term oral health.

One of the great things about Smile Month is the amount of free resources available through the Oral Health Foundation website. There are posters, patient information tools, educational resources and campaign materials that practices can use throughout the month.

They’re practical, easy to use, and really helpful for supporting conversations with patients of all ages.

You can access the resources here:
https://buff.ly/fzSTGep

It would be fantastic to see as many practices as possible getting involved as we celebrate 50 years of Smile Month.

If you’d like to take part or find out more, visit:
https://buff.ly/y3N8P9x

And thanks to the brilliant sponsors supporting this year’s campaign:
Oral-B
Listerine
Ordo
Haleon

Lots more to come on this over the next month.

B x

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06/05/2026

A thought that comes up more and more in practice.

Patients don’t fail treatment.
Systems can sometimes make it harder for them to succeed.

It’s easy to assume that when outcomes aren’t where we want them to be, it comes down to the patient.

But in reality, many patients really do try their best.

They brush.
They attend.
They follow advice as far as they understand it.

And yet progress isn’t always where we’d hope.

So it’s worth taking a step back and asking ourselves a slightly different question.

What could we do differently?

Sometimes it’s as simple as taking a bit more time to understand what the patient actually wants.

Do they want to look better?
Feel cleaner?
Are they aware of their oral health at all?

Understanding that can really shape how we guide them.

It influences the conversations we have, the advice we give, and the strategies we use.

And beyond that, there are now tools and treatments that can help patients get that bit further.

For some, these can make a real difference.

But only if we’re open to trying them.

If outcomes aren’t quite where we want them to be, it’s not always about asking more from the patient.

Sometimes it’s about gently adapting the system around them.

It would be interesting to hear - what have you found works well in helping you better understand your patients in practice?

B x

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01/05/2026

Not long to go now until the Oral Health Foundation National Smile Month.

It’s always a good reminder of how important a smile really is.

Not just from an oral health perspective, but what it represents.

A smile can help people through difficult times.
It can lift others, inspire, motivate.
Even when you don’t feel like it, the simple act of smiling can have a positive effect on how we feel.

That’s why this campaign matters.

Do you know someone who:

Empowers others through positivity
Brings people together
Or simply makes those around them feel better

It could be someone on your dental team, a patient, or anyone who makes a difference day to day.

As part of Smile Month, the Oral Health Foundation is recognising these people.

Each week, one nominee will be selected to receive a special prize.

To nominate:

Send a photo of your nominee (they must be smiling)
Include a short description of why they deserve to be recognised

If they make a positive difference, we want to hear their story.

You can nominate here:
https://buff.ly/65Lj4BV

B x

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27/04/2026

A really interesting piece published by Dentistry last week on oral health and pneumonia.

Simple oral care, including toothbrushing, could reduce the risk of hospital-acquired pneumonia by up to 60%.

That’s a huge number.

When you look at the wider data, it becomes even more significant.

Pneumonia is one of the leading causes of hospital admission in the UK, with over 250,000 admissions each year, and rates rising.
It’s also associated with significant mortality, particularly in older and more vulnerable patients.

From a cost perspective, the burden is substantial, with each admission costing the NHS thousands of pounds and contributing to a significant annual spend.

The mechanism itself isn’t complicated.

Many cases of pneumonia originate from bacteria already present in the mouth. When oral hygiene is poor, those bacteria can be aspirated into the lungs, particularly in vulnerable or hospitalised patients.

Improve oral hygiene, and you reduce that bacterial load.

What’s striking is how simple the intervention can be.

A toothbrush.
Toothpaste.
Adjunctive tools and treatments where needed.
A system that ensures it actually happens.

This is another clear example of why oral health is so crucial to overall health.

Managing oral dysbiosis isn’t not just about teeth. It’s about reducing the risk of wider systemic conditions that cost lives and place huge pressure on the NHS.

This is what makes oral health one of the true low-hanging fruits in healthcare.

Not complex.
Not expensive.

It just needs to be applied consistently within a system that supports it.

See the full article here - https://buff.ly/g4c8Ewn

B x

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23/04/2026

Great to host the whitening webinar with Dentistry this week.

A lot of it reinforced something I see time and time again in practice.

Patients come in saying they want whiter teeth.
But what they really want is a better smile.

And often, they’re asking for that in a mouth that isn’t ready.

This is where a structured approach is a real game changer.

Whitening isn’t the starting point.
It’s the end point of a process.

Assess properly.
Stabilise disease.
Improve oral hygiene.
Then treat.

Plan your process. Standardise it.

If you don’t, you’re relying on chance.
If you do, outcomes become predictable.

One of the useful tools we discussed was the Philips Whitening Playbook.

It’s a practical resource that brings structure to what can otherwise feel quite variable in practice, covering assessment, consent, workflows and communication.

If you’d like a copy, you can scan the QR code in the image below to download it for free.

Another big takeaway was around communication.

Do you actually know what your patients want?
Do you ask?

It sounds simple, but it’s often missed.

And when expectations aren’t set properly, it’s usually the clinician that carries the risk, not the biology.

This doesn’t need to be complicated.

Simple, repeatable workflows that the whole team understands and delivers.

That’s where the real shift happens.

B x

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