Smile Squad
Smile Squad was created in 2022 to address inequalities in access to dental care for young people across Liverpool City Region
Working in collaboration with the University of Liverpool Paediatric Dentistry team and Elbow Lane Dental Care we have created a three pronged initiative to help children who have been identified as having unmet dental needs.
Supervised toothbrushing schemes and dental screening
Predominantly active in primary schools, Dan Collins (general dental practitioner and LFC club dentist) acted as clinical lead on the project and set up the school visits.
Working with support from undergraduate students and staff from the University of Liverpool School of Dentistry. The visits include setting up in each classroom a toothbrushing station for the children to brush daily. The visit also includes a brief dental screen to identify those with visible dental disease and signposting to contact their family dentists. For those who have difficulty accessing care, an offer of treatment with undergraduate students is usually made and information about how to utilise this is sent to the parent.
Community workshops
As part of our regularly scheduled evening football sessions, the Smile Squad attend some of these events to offer advice and screening for children after their football activities.
Refugee outreach event
Helping with screening and dental management of over 150 refugee children.
Refugee children have been unable to access NHS dental care since arriving in the UK and many of them are in dental pain. By working with various Local Authorities' Refugee & Asylum Seeker Teams we're able to arrange a visit from a dental team to those in need of care.