A leading figure behind a ‘dental dessert’ campaign stunt which dished out free ‘toothpaste inspired’ ice creams has vowed to step up the fight for Lincolnshire to get its own dental school.
The University of Lincoln has launched an ice cream van project – a gentle nod to Lincolnshire’s status as a so-called ‘dental desert’ – as part of its push to get Government backing for a training facility to help boost access to NHS appointments in the county, writes Local Democracy Reporter Oliver Castle.
It developed a ‘toothpaste inspired’ vanilla ice cream with a mint sauce and handed them out free to visitors to the Lincolnshire Show last week as part of a tour that also went to Westminster.
Susie MacPherson, (pictured) project manager for the dental project at the university, said: “It is a way of highlighting to Lincolnshire residents that it’s a really serious issue.
“Many people across Lincolnshire are unable to access the NHS dentistry they need – and the main reason actually is because we do not have enough dental workforce in the area.
“At the university, we’re training hygienists and therapists from September – and we want to train dentists because they’ll be able to deliver the majority of dental appointments that we need.”
She added that the idea to set up the ice cream van tour was particularly relevant to highlight the issues facing the county’s seaside communities.
Just one in four people in Lincolnshire can access NHS dental care, according to the university, with some parts of the county having some of the lowest dental care rates in the country.
