NHS ‘Tooth Bus’ Takes to the Roads to Provide Free Dental Checks
A new mobile dental unit nicknamed ‘the tooth bus’ has taken to the roads to raise awareness of oral health and NHS dental services.
The bus will make its way through Berkshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire, beginning in Portsmouth. The unit will be providing free dental check-ups to people who haven’t visited a dentist in the last two years. According to statistics from the region, this includes around half of the adult population. The bus will stop at Sure Start children’s centres, supermarkets and shopping malls and members of staff will be on hand to discuss oral health issues and inform people about the NHS services available in their local area.
Dr Paul Edmondson-Jones, director of public health, described the tooth bus as an “excellent step” to improved oral hygiene. The NHS has set up the unit, which is owned by Iosis Dental Clinic Ltd.
Director of the Iosis Dental Clinic Ltd, Shapour Hariri, said that patients who are found to require further treatment at the unit will be referred to a local dentist and will then be encouraged to register with the practice and attend regular checks. Hariri said that the mobile unit is a great way of reaching out to people who may otherwise find it difficult to get to the dentist and those who are unaware of the NHS services available to them.
The bus will be touring Hampshire until the 19th August before moving on to Berkshire and then Oxfordshire in November.
Join this Discussion
