Walsall dentist surgery offers chance for youngsters to sign up and enjoy better dental care
A Walsall dental practice has started a month-long promotion to invite young people to sign up and be able to access better dental care from the NHS.
Allsopp Dental Practice on Bridge Street in Walsall town centre has started the promotion through February to invite people aged 18 and younger to sign up for NHS care as part of Children's Dental Health Awareness month.
Orthodontic manager Emma Russell said the surgery had come up with the idea for the promotion due to having space on its books.
She said: "We just thought that, for the month of February and with half term being in the month as well, that we would open up the books to just under 18s.
"There's not a lot of practices taking on NHS patients at the moment and we just thought it would be good to do something to give back to the community, so we've opened the books to get some children into NHS dentistry.
"It's also about promoting good oral health at a young age and, obviously, prevention is better than cure, so it's better for children to come from an early age, get their check-ups regularly and we can educate them on how to clean their teeth to make sure they don't get cavities.
"That way, they won't have to come back and have loads of fillings."
Ms Russell said the surgery was proud of being able to give back to the community and provide a service to young people, saying it demonstrated what it does as a community surgery.
She said: "We do a lot of stuff with the community, working with Well Wishes at Walsall Manor Hospital, a charity which does lots with people in the hospital.
"We took Easter eggs there last year for the elderly ward and we also sponsor a few football teams in the local community, so we try to do as much as we can for the local community."
Ms Russell also said the promotion was a good way of showing that the dentist wasn't scary or a frightening place for youngsters.
She said: "We're quite a relaxed dental practice and we've got quite a few children who come in and we do braces and stuff like that.
"There's no need to be scared of coming to the dentist and it's just getting people used to it, so we don't want people to not come because they're scared as we are a nice practice and want to ensure your teeth are in the best shape."
To find out more, call 01922 614685 or visit the Allsopp Dental Practice website.
