This year's National Smile Month was launched by the Oral Health Foundation on 16 May in Central London. At the event, Chief Executive Dr Nigel Carter called for the government to put an end to the vast inequalities in oral health that are causing tens of thousands of people to suffer in pain.

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Professor Iain Chapple and Professor Avijit Banerjee at the launch of National Smile Month

Dr Carter has urged the government to focus on addressing critical problems with access to NHS dentistry and the need to train more dentists.

Dr Carter said: 'Oral health varies around the UK - it is a postcode lottery. This isn't going to go away overnight as the dentists just aren't there. It does seem that there isn't a wish to address the problem and train more dentists.

'Whether dentistry is being delivered on the NHS, or the private sector, it is not possible without an adequate workforce.

'You really can't achieve good health and wellbeing without good oral health. That's why during National Smile Month, we are calling for a levelling up agenda so that everybody can achieve the standards of oral health that they really deserve.'

The theme of National Smile Month 2022, which runs from 16 May until 16 June, is 'Everyone deserves a healthy smile'. The Oral Health Foundation will be providing information and support for thousands of children and families, the elderly and vulnerable, people with disabilities and those living in deprivation or isolation.

Professor Avijit Banerjee, speaking on behalf of sponsor Wrigley Oral Healthcare Programme, said: 'We need to move away from just treating diseases to preventing them. We need to bring back the national health service, as opposed to a national illness service or a national treatment service. We need to innovate in the way we change behaviour and engage with the public on prevention'.

Professor Iain Chapple, speaking on behalf of sponsor Johnson&Johnson, said: 'Both tooth decay and periodontitis are the most common human diseases responsible for more years lost to disability than any other human condition, and the links to systemic diseases are well established.

'There is a desperate need for public health campaigns to raise awareness of this. It's really tough to get public health messages in oral care funded nationally. We all need to start investing and getting those messages out there.'

For more information and resources for National Smile Month visit www.smilemonth.org.