All smiles from NHS dental team

The team won the Keith Woods Memorial Prize for a written submission on the oral health needs assessment of homeless people in Lanarkshire.

The prize, organised by the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry (BASCD), is awarded to BASCD members who produce a written submission of original research work or good practice in oral health needs assessment or dental epidemiology.

It is only bestowed on those who manage to compile a piece of work which is regarded as of appropriate high quality.

The prize was presented to Albert Yeung, NHS Lanarkshire consultant of Dental Public Health, at the BASCD presidential scientific meeting in London on November 24, 2011.

As well as Dr Yeung, other NHS Lanarkshire staff members involved in the project included Anne Moore, deputy director of Salaried Primary Care Dental Services, and Celia Watt, senior health promotion officer for Oral Health.

The findings of the NHS Lanarkshire submission were part of a national survey entitled Smile4life, which is a collaboration project between the Dental Health Services Research Unit of the University of Dundee and seven NHS Boards across Scotland.

Results of the survey are being used to design an oral health improvement programme for homeless people.

Congratulating the Oral Health team on its award, NHS Lanarkshire chief executive Tim Davison, said: “I’m delighted our Oral Health team has received national recognition for its efforts.

“It reflects well, not only on the NHS Lanarkshire staff members who were involved in the project, but also on dental public health services in Lanarkshire more generally.

“The team can justifiably be proud of this achievement,” he added.