Sir, a recent letter highlights the need for collaborative working between dental and community pharmacy (CP) teams.1 This model of partnership already exists with general medical practitioners, as CPs have served as referral mechanisms to them and other healthcare team members. As a pharmacist and a dental public health researcher, I agree fostering a relationship between pharmacy and dental health teams would improve patient care.

There are over 11,000 NHS CPs in England; some are in hard to reach areas and are accessed by people who may not routinely use other NHS services.2 CP settings have been effective for public health interventions such as alcohol reduction, smoking cessation and weight management. They could also have significant potential to deliver approaches towards fighting oral health diseases. In my years of working as a community pharmacist, I have been approached regularly for oral health advice, as a first point of contact and to purchase over-the-counter medications for symptomatic relief. While we aim to do the best for these patients, there are deficiencies in our oral health knowledge. From personal experiences3 and courses, we are able to offer guidance on some oral health conditions such as mouth ulcers and toothache, however there is still a lack of confidence in advising on more complex conditions. There is a need for more to be done such as incorporating oral health in undergraduate pharmacy programmes and accessible courses, workshops and seminars for practising CPs delivered by dental health professionals. I discussed this with a few colleagues who are all keen to improve oral health knowledge but potential barriers include timing, cost and support from employers.

Pre-pandemic, I was involved in facilitating seminars aimed at encouraging dental students to foster collaborative working relationships with CPs when they work with GDPs. It is imperative dental professionals are encouraged to establish better professional relationships with their local CP teams and vice versa.