Dental service providers and oral health promotion providers are being asked by England's Chief Dental Officer (CDO) Sara Hurley to get in touch and share their experiences about working with socially excluded populations.

The CDO wants to hear from these professionals if they provide dental care or oral health promotion to marginalised groups.

Credit: ©Vasilis Skopelitis/Moment Open/Getty

The Office of the CDO is working in collaboration with King's College London to map and find out more about such services with a view to sharing best practice.

All professionals carrying out such work, who may be in Community Dental Services or General Dental Services, in NHS or private practice, or in third sector organisations, are being asked to complete a survey.

Their work could include dental services designed to reach homeless and vulnerably housed populations, sex workers, vulnerable migrants, Gypsy or Roma Travellers, people with substance use disorders and other groups that may be considered marginalised or socially excluded.

In addition to the office of the CDO and King's College London, other contributors to the development of the survey include the BDA England Community Dental Services Committee, the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry, Public Health England London, Groundswell, Queen Mary's University London and researchers in the field of social exclusion.

The survey is open until 31 October 2018 and can be found at: https://kcldental.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4VHLQqFpL1sLht3.