Oral health campaigns

National Smile Month is a charity campaign all about raising awareness of having good oral health and promoting the value of a healthy smile. They believe that everybody deserves a healthy smile and oral health is a crucial part of your overall wellbeing.

The four key messages are:

• Brush teeth for two minutes, last thing at night and one other time during the day
• Clean between your teeth with floss or interdental brushes
• Cut down how much and how often you have sugary foods and drinks
• Visit a dentist regularly

Stoptober is a campaign led by Public Health England which encourages smokers to stop smoking for 28 days during the mouth of October. It is based on research that shows if you stop smoking for 28 days then you're five times more likely to stop smoking for good.

Top tips to stop smoking:

• List your reasons to quit
• Tell people you're quitting
• If you have tried to quit before, remember what worked
• Use stop smoking aids
• Have a plan if you are tempted to smoke
• List your smoking triggers and how to avoid them
• Keep cravings at bay by keeping busy
• Exercise away the urge
• Join groups for support and advice

Mouth Cancer Action Month is held in November every year and is supported by the Mouth Cancer Foundation and the Oral Health Foundation. This campaign raises awareness of the sign, symptoms and causes of mouth cancer as there are over 8864 new cases in the Uk each year.

What are the symptoms?

• An ulcer or white or red patch anywhere in the mouth that does not heal within 3 weeks
• A lump or swelling anywhere in the mouth, jaw or neck that persists for more than 3 weeks.
• Difficulty swallowing, chewing or moving the jaw or tongue.
• Numbness of tongue or other area of the mouth.
• A feeling that something is caught in the throat.
• A chronic sore throat or hoarseness that persists more than 6 weeks.
• Unexplained loosening of teeth.

If you experience one or more of these symptoms get it checked out by a dentist or doctor.