NHS Portsmouth launches new Vampire Video to boost Oral Health
NHS Portsmouth has launched a novel campaign to try and improve standards of oral health in the area; the trust has based the new campaign on a vampire film in light of the recent success of films like the Twilight series.
The social media campaign features a character known as Lola Molar and tells the story of a victim being disgusted by the vampire’s teeth. The ‘Want a Dentist after Dark?’ video was made to target young people and encourage them to get involved in oral health; the video was originally produced for NHS Northamptonshire but as been adapted for NHS Portsmouth.
Portsmouth has notoriously poor standards of oral health and according to Lee Loveless, from NHS Portsmouth, other campaigns and initiatives to involve young people in oral health have failed. Teams have drawn upon the success of the Twilight films and vampire-themed television series and are using social media sites, which have become a primary channel of communication for young people, to influence children and adolescents.
Research carried out for the Department of Health showed that young people are eager to look after their teeth because photos of them were appearing on sites such as Facebook on an increasingly regular basis; this has made people more aware of their appearance and the campaign will hopefully encourage them to take the necessary steps to protect and care for their teeth and gums. Health chiefs are particularly keen to target young men, as the majority of them only visit their dentist when they are suffering from pain.
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