Dental Health Centre

General information

The Oral Health Foundation is an independent charity that is dedicated to improving the oral health of the public by providing free and impartial dental advice, by running educational campaigns and by informing and influencing the public, profession and government on issues such as mouth cancer awareness and fluoridation.

Formed in 1971, the concept of preventive dentistry and the benefits which could ensue from it were very new and being practiced by only a small proportion of the dental profession. The founding fathers of the Foundation wished to see the preventive message that 'Teeth are for Life' spread as widely as possible to the public with the aim of improving the overall health of the nation's teeth.

The Foundation has run a National Dental Helpline from their head office in Rugby, Warwickshire, for over a decade. The helpline offers free advice and has received almost 350,000 calls since its creation, dealing with a large range of dental enquiries from the public.

The charity provides an exclusive range of dental products and educational material for dental practices, PCTs and oral health educators from around the UK and its range of over 50 'Tell Me About' patient information leaflets are distributed across the country.

The British Dental Health Foundation also organise and run two annual campaigns, National Smile Month (May 20 - June 20) and Mouth Cancer Action Month (throughout November). The Foundation uses the campaigns to spread public awareness of oral health issues via the press while encouraging the profession to be more active in education in their local communities.