ORAL HEALTH PROMOTION SERVICE

Oral health is an important part of general health and wellbeing. Whilst there have been welcome improvements in the oral health of children in England, significant inequalities remain. Nottinghamshire County Council intends to deliver an evidence-based oral health promotion service for identified individuals, communities and vulnerable groups in Nottinghamshire, to maintain and improve their oral health. Key areas of activity within the new service will include: <b>Oral health training </b>- delivery of sustainable, evidence-based brief advice intervention oral health training for the wider health, social care and education workforce. This will be based on a capacity building approach in order to support oral health improvement in the workforce's daily role. Training will aim to cover areas such as the fact that tooth decay and gum disease are preventable, how fluoride can help prevent tooth decay and where to get advice about local dental services. <b>Supervised tooth brushing </b>-<b> </b>development of a sustainable supervised tooth brushing programme within early years settings, targeting areas with poor oral health outcomes in Nottinghamshire. The programme will work with nursery settings and primary schools to deliver a programme where children will be supervised to brush their teeth, with training also given to staff to carry out supervised tooth brushing. <b>Development and/or distribution of oral health resources </b>- provision of oral health resources (for example, packs of information leaflets, toothbrushes and/or toothpaste) to be distributed to service users via professionals such as health visitors, school nurses and social care workers. The provider will also disseminate information on good oral health and brushing practice, as well as information on local dental services. <b>Campaigns</b> - supporting the local delivery in Nottinghamshire of national campaigns and work in partnership with key stakeholders to deliver these campaigns, for example National Smile Month, Mouth Cancer Awareness Month and National No Smoking Day. In addition, other local targeted oral health campaigns will be undertaken

Additional information: Oral health is an important part of general health and wellbeing. Whilst there have been welcome improvements in the oral health of children in England, significant inequalities remain. Nottinghamshire County Council intends to deliver an evidence-based oral health promotion service for identified individuals, communities and vulnerable groups in Nottinghamshire, to maintain and improve their oral health. Key areas of activity within the new service will include: Oral health training - delivery of sustainable, evidence-based brief advice intervention oral health training for the wider health, social care and education workforce. This will be based on a capacity building approach in order to support oral health improvement in the workforce's daily role. Training will aim to cover areas such as the fact that tooth decay and gum disease are preventable, how fluoride can help prevent tooth decay and where to get advice about local dental services. Supervised tooth brushing - development of a sustainable supervised tooth brushing programme within early years settings, targeting areas with poor oral health outcomes in Nottinghamshire. The programme will work with nursery settings and primary schools to deliver a programme where children will be supervised to brush their teeth, with training also given to staff to carry out supervised tooth brushing. Development and/or distribution of oral health resources - provision of oral health resources (for example, packs of information leaflets, toothbrushes and/or toothpaste) to be distributed to service users via professionals such as health visitors, school nurses and social care workers. The provider will also disseminate information on good oral health and brushing practice, as well as information on local dental services. Campaigns - supporting the local delivery in Nottinghamshire of national campaigns and work in partnership with key stakeholders to deliver these campaigns, for example National Smile Month, Mouth Cancer Awareness Month and National No Smoking Day. In addition, other local targeted oral health campaigns will be undertaken The contracts will run from April 2016 for a period 3 years, with an option to extend at the Council's sole discretion for an additional period of up to 24 months. The budget for this contract does not exceed £83,000 per annum. The Council is seeking bids that offer value for money through efficiency and innovative thinking and Bidders will be required to identify the level of service (hours) that will be provided for the funds available.