Practices across the UK took the Dress Up for Dentaid Day in their stride with a variety of wild and wacky outfits this year.

Staff were keen to take part in the national ‘Dress Up for Dentaid Day’ to raise money for the dental charity, which is dedicated to helping the developing world improve oral healthcare.

Staff at the Dartford Road Dental Centre (pictured) chose a gardening theme for their creative costumes. They grew tomato plants and sold them to patients to add to the money they raised for Dentaid. To follow on with the gardening theme, dental care was provided by flowerpot men, with the help of the garden fairies and the gardener.

Also doing their best for Dress Up for Dentaid Day were staff from the IDH Dental Centre in Dolphin Square. Although the Wild West is a million miles away, patients could have been forgiven for thinking they had stepped on to the set of a Clint Eastwood western.

All the dental staff in the practice abandoned their uniforms for the day in favour of a ‘fashionable’ Western look, and the surgery was populated by cowboys and showgirls. Staff managed to raise around £80 in donations from both staff and patients, and practice manager Lee-Anne Hutchings reported that everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. ‘Patients remarked that they had their minds taken off the real purpose of their visits, and it's good to know that you're making a real difference to the lives of people in the developing world.’