National Smile Month is the UK’s largest and longest-running campaign to promote good oral health. It is an annual event run by the Oral Health Foundation all about championing the benefits of having good oral health and promoting the value of a healthy smile.
This year’s campaign runs between 12th May and 12th June 2025 and is focusing on the powerful connection between diet and oral health with the theme, Feed Your Smile. Our diet, which is the food and drink we eat each day, plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy smile, healthy teeth and healthy gums. Feed your smile wants to help you make smart choices that promote oral health every day.
Did you know that in Birmingham, the most recent data from the National Dental Epidemiology Programme (NDEP), shows 34.3% of 5 year old children had experience of combined enamel and/or dentinal decay in 2024 which is higher than the national average and the West Midlands region:
This is despite the fact Birmingham’s water is fluoridated and tooth decay is largely preventable. Startwell promotes good oral health through our character Smiley Shen who encourages us to keep our teeth clean and healthy. He tells us that even our first set of teeth, our ‘milk teeth’, are important as children use these to learn to eat, chew and speak, plus they are making the spaces for our adult teeth. To find out more about Smiley Shen Click Here.
What can you do in your setting to support National Smile Month?
Promoting Oral Health in setting
Oral Health is a topic which should be promoted all year round and the EYFS requires early years practitioners to support, encourage and promote good Oral Health. Here at Startwell we have created a range of age specific Smiley Shen activities for you to do with the children in your care. There are examples for babies, toddlers and pre-school on our website
We also have our Smiley Shen Pinterest Board with lots of ideas.
Other ways to promote Oral Health:
- Ensure the snacks you serve are based on fruit and vegetables (but avoid dried fruit at snack time)
- Limit sugary desserts to once a week at lunch time
- Only milk or water should be served to the children in age-appropriate drinking vessels. No other drinks should be consumed in the setting.
- Display and talk about our hydration characters to encourage the children to drink more water
- Be a good role model and let the children see you drinking water too
- Add a note to your registration forms to ask families for the name of their dentist. If they are not registered, signpost them to their nearest NHS dentist
- Share the Smiley Shen activity ideas for families to do at home. There are examples for babies, toddler and pre-school children
- Create a Smiley Shen take home bag
- Set up tooth brushing with the children in your setting
Remember the 3 key messages for better Oral Health:
- Brush teeth for two minutes twice a day with a fluoridated toothpaste (last thing at night and one other time during the day)
- Reduce your intake and frequency of sugary foods and drinks.
- Visit a dentist regularly.
Please make sure you communicate these important messages to your children and families via email, displays, newsletters, social media and electronic learning journals.
If you would like more information and support with Oral Health, you can access our free Oral Health training for early years practitioners. See our training dates here.
