ADEE-HALEON Preventative Oral Health in Society Awards 2025

The University of Sheffield, UK, Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy Programme and curriculum which integrates seamlessly the role of targeted intervention within various sectors of the local community.

Interventions include service users at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation setting, local rugby union sports teams to raise the awareness and importance of sports mouthguards, homelessness charity, a daycare centre for children, and working with University Clinical Teachers to embed oral health into an undergraduate nursing degree program.

The aim is that students develop interventions that can continue without their input, for example, developing local oral health promotion policies and training packs for annual training of new employees.

Universidad Internacional de Cataluña, Spain and their collaboration agreement with social organizations that serve vulnerable people.

The program seeks to provide preventive oral health interventions, and therefore also for systemic pathologies such as aspiration pneumonia, for homeless people, patients with special needs, and institutionalized patients.

Annual follow-up is provided to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions and promote oral hygiene habits. Dental students are actively engaged in the needs of vulnerable populations, fostering an empathetic and supportive attitude towards these patients.