The world needs more Oral Health Educators, could you be one of them?
The world needs more Oral Health Educators, could you be one of them?
The historic World Health Organisation (WHO) Resolution May 2021 paves the way for oral health improvements with “a shift from the traditional curative approach towards a preventative approach that includes promotion of oral health within the family, schools and workplaces.”
Increasing evidence suggests a strong link between oral health and systemic health. The WHO Resolution highlighted the link between oral diseases and “other non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers, pneumonia, obesity and premature birth.” It’s clear that education on oral health needs to be improved and what better way to do that than with Oral Health Educators.
It is an exciting time in dentistry, as a qualified dental nurse, you have the opportunity to undertake extra training to be able to add oral health education to your skillset and become an oral health educator through the SmileWisdom NEDBN Certificate in Oral Health Education (OHE).
As a dental nurse, we already know you care deeply about the wellbeing of your patients so by completing this education you can go that one step further in adding additional value to patients’ lives. Talking to patients of all ages about good oral health has the potential to impact their future health in a positive way while being hugely rewarding for yourself. For example, the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) highlights the importance of good oral health during pregnancy as, “scientific studies have shown connections between gum disease and adverse pregnancy outcomes such as premature birth, low birth weight, and pre-eclampsia.” How amazing would it be to know that you could potentially have a greater impact in supporting an individual’s oral health journey and really make a difference in someone’s life?
At SmileWisdom, we’re really excited to add the NEDBN Certificate in Oral Health Education to our postgraduate portfolio. Our OHE tutor, Victoria Wilson, is passionate about promoting good oral health to the wider public, something which can often be overlooked.
Good “oral health is much more than clean teeth…oral health refers to the health of our mouth and, ultimately, supports and reflects the health of the entire body.” (Benjamin RM, 2010). Unfortunately, the events of last year saw dental practices close for a short time and patients in lockdown restricted to emergency-only dental appointments, their oral health suffering as a result.
As we get back to a sense of normality it is vital to educate the public on the importance of regular dental check-ups and good all-round dental hygiene. As part of the OHE syllabus, you will gain the knowledge, critical understanding, intellectual skills, practical skills and personal approach to enable you to provide effective oral health education to a wide range of patients. All this in just 6 monthly online classes of 3hours each, making it totally doable alongside a full-time job in practice.
Once qualified you have so many opportunities waiting for you. As well as educating your in-practice patients you could take your knowledge into schools, care homes, special needs facilities, workplaces, hospitals or even run your own online programmes both locally and internationally. There’s never been a better time to level up your skillset and be a part of the change that needs to happen in dentistry.
click here to find out more about the Certificate in Oral Health Education.
References
Benjamin RM. Oral health: the silent epidemic. Public Health Rep. 2010;125(2):158-159. doi:10.1177/003335491012500202
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