Supporting oral health through diet and education – National Smile Month 2025

Miranda Steeples - MSc, Grad Dip DH & Th, AssocFCGDent
Emma Duke - Tutor Assessor OHP

From 12th May to 12th June 2025, the UK dental community comes together to celebrate National Smile Month, an initiative led by the Oral Health Foundation. This year’s campaign, “Feed Your Smile”, highlights the critical link between diet and oral health, encouraging professionals and the public alike to understand how nutrition directly affects dental wellbeing.

This year’s theme offers a timely reminder that dietary choices are just as important as oral hygiene routines. From reducing sugar intake to choosing tooth-friendly snacks and staying hydrated, the food and drink we consume play a significant role in the prevention of enamel erosion, gum disease, and tooth decay.

Key messages from National Smile Month 2025

This year’s campaign focuses on several essential points we can reinforce in our practices and communities:

• Balanced diets, hydration, and healthy snacks support enamel and gum health.
• Reducing sugar limits the risk of long-term dental issues.
• Dairy, gut-friendly foods, and low-acid meals can strengthen and protect teeth.
• Sugary, acidic, and highly processed foods should be kept to a minimum.

Just as crucially, diet should go hand-in-hand with an effective daily oral health routine - twice daily brushing with fluoride toothpaste, regular interdental cleaning, fluoride mouthwash, and routine oral health reviews.

Empowering oral health through education

At Tempdent, we’re proud to support National Smile Month by helping to train the next generation of dental professionals. We offer the Level 4 Oral Health Practitioner Apprenticeship, designed for dental nurses who want to upskill and take on greater responsibility in delivering preventative oral health care and oral health education into communities.

Our apprenticeship gives professionals the tools to:

• Deliver oral health education in line with current campaigns.
• Promote healthy eating and lifestyle habits.
• Provide tailored oral hygiene support to patients.
• Work within oral healthcare teams to improve patient outcomes and reduce disease prevalence.

Whether you're a practice looking to expand your team’s skill set or a dental nurse ready to progress your career, our programme will help you make a lasting impact in your community.

Read more about the apprenticeship here: Introducing the Oral Health Practitioner Apprenticeship

Let’s feed more smiles together

National Smile Month 2025 gives us all a reason to reflect on how we’re supporting oral health in our practices - and in our patients’ lives. By combining nutritional awareness with clinical prevention, and by continuing to train highly skilled dental professionals, we can truly champion brighter, healthier smiles across the UK.

If you’re ready to take the next step in your dental career or grow your practice’s preventative care capabilities, Tempdent is here to help.

Call us on 020 8371 6700

Or email us at info@tempdent.co.uk