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Civic engagement

At the School of Dentistry we believe that civic engagement is crucial to our success. Working with communities, leaders and organisations throughout Merseyside we aim to improve lives and the experience of our students.

Smile Squad

At the School of Dentistry, we are proud to work alongside the LFC Foundation’s Smile Squad programme, where we work to address the oral health inequalities experienced by children. The Smile Squad provides oral health prevention and care at primary schools across the Liverpool City Region and at family hubs across Merseyside and Cheshire where children currently have limited or no dental care access.

The Smile Squad was founded in 2022 by the Paediatric Dentistry team from the School of Dentistry, in partnership with the LFC foundation and Elbow Lane Dental Care. The Smile Squad has delivered interventions across a range of settings in the region which collectively aim to improve the oral health of children. The Smile Squad has delivered oral health screening in several primary schools, with the provision of preventative dental care including setting up supervised toothbrushing schemes. For those children who require further treatment, referral to our undergraduate dental students in the School of Dentistry is offered. Smile Squad has also worked to support local refugee communities, sharing positive oral health messages and facilitating access to dental care. The Smile Squad has worked to integrate oral health, sharing oral health prevention messages through non-traditional routes such as LFC Foundation football training sessions.

At first The Smile Squad was a volunteer scheme for undergraduate students but, considering the positive feedback from students and the community, it is now integrated into our students learning experience with all student in their 3rd and 5th years of study participating. The Smile Squad not only provides a valuable contribution to our local community but also serves as incredible tool for learning and education at the University, providing valuable experience to the next generation of dental professionals. The Smile Squad continues to look for novel approaches to delivering oral health education and highlight the importance of oral health within the local community.