Pfizer Consumer Healthcare has announced the launch of its first sponsorship award scheme to support training and development in major dental schools across the UK.

The Listerine Hygiene and Therapy Award will centre on a plaque viability experiment, demonstrating the importance of plaque management in the prevention of oral disease. The practical outputs from the experiment will form the basis of award entries.

The experiment, aimed at pre-clinical dental and hygiene and therapy students, demonstrates the influence a commercially available mouthwash might have on plaque viability. This experiment, devised by Glasgow University's Clinical Senior Lecturer in Oral Sciences, Steve Creanor, shows how bacteria production can be slowed down and over time reduced with the addition of an essential oils mouthwash to an oral health regime.

To enter the award, each school will be required to register a note of intent and in return Pfizer Consumer Healthcare will provide the necessary equipment and supporting materials.

A team of Pfizer oral healthcare consultants will visit each participating school, deliver a tutorial introducing the scheme and provide tutorial packs developed for tutors and students together with a DVD demonstrating the experiment.

The scheme will commence on Monday 4 September 2006 and students will be required to submit their findings from the practical experiment no later than Friday 27 April 2007. The winning student, announced at the end of the academic year, will receive £1,000 for their dental school and an all expenses paid trip to an international conference during their second year. A separate award of £1,000 is available for the tutor delivering the most innovative demonstration to their students.

To find out more information and to register your interest to take part in the scheme please call 01304 616161.