Marking its commitment to transform how dentistry is delivered in the UK, mydentist is proud to announce the creation of the mydentist Foundation – an industry-leading initiative within the dental care sector.
The mydentist Foundation builds on the provider’s successful efforts to expand access to dentistry, with more than 130,000 additional NHS patients now being seen across mydentist practices, the launch of an affordable private care offering, myoptions, and investing to open up larger, state-of-the-art practices in consumer retail settings with improved accessibility and the latest technology.
The mydentist Foundation is backed by £1 million of investment, allowing it to be sustainable and support charitable organisations and causes for the long-term.
It has two core aims: the first is to improve oral health for the most vulnerable in our society by supporting local and national charities targeting improved dental provision for communities in need; and the second is to support the most talented people from underrepresented groups to pursue careers within dentistry.
The mydentist Foundation is designed around mydentist’s purpose of helping the nation smile. It will focus on four key initiatives:
- Driving down oral healthcare inequalities, particularly for the most vulnerable, through a new, transformative partnership with Dentaid The Dental Charity.
- A new dental scholarship scheme, in partnership with leading UK universities, to be awarded to a select number of exceptionally talented students from underrepresented backgrounds throughout their BDS qualification
- Creating apprenticeship pathways to support dental nurses who want to become hygienists and therapists
- A new pathway to allow nurses to develop to Orthodontic Therapists
To support mydentist in making these initiatives as impactful as possible, four industry leaders within the dental sector have been appointed to a new Ambassador Board: Professor Christopher Tredwin MBE, Dean of Queen Mary University of London; Fiona Ellwood, Emeritus Chair of the Society of British Dental Nurses; Dr Olurotimi Adesanya MBE, Chair of the African and Caribbean Dental Association, Chair of the African and Caribbean Dental Association; and Dr Ben Atkins, former President of the Oral Health Foundation.
All members of the Ambassador Board bring deep sector expertise and knowledge which will enable mydentist to ensure that all new initiatives being undertaken are as beneficial, meaningful and impactful as possible.
The provider’s new Foundation is wasting no time in its mission of driving down oral health inequalities, today announcing a revolutionary partnership with Dentaid The Dental Charity. With 60 years’ combined experience within dentistry, the dental provider and dental charity are joining forces to lower oral health inequalities across the UK.
Setting out to provide under-served communities and vulnerable groups with vital dental care, mydentist has pledged £250,000 to enable Dentaid to build a new and environmentally conscious van, which will enable Dentaid to increase access to safe, sustainable dental care for people experiencing homelessness, harm, poverty and abuse. The van will be solar powered, aligning with mydentist’s wider Environment, Society and Governance (ESG) strategy, and will be the first of its kind within the Dentaid fleet.
The new vehicle will be allocated to one of Dentaid’s regional hubs. From there, it will be used to deliver outreach care for target populations in that region of the UK, predominantly at hostels and crisis accommodation, community centres, family hubs, refuges and food banks.
The new vehicle will be used for a minimum of 120 outreach dental clinics a year, with an average of 10 patients seen at each clinic. The expected lifespan of the van is 15 years, putting mydentist and Dentaid on track to deliver 1,800 clinics, supporting 18,000 people and delivering over 54,000 treatments including fillings, extractions, scale and polish, fluoride varnish, x-rays, oral cancer screenings and dental health instruction.
Nilesh Pandya, Chief Executive Officer at mydentist, commented: “As the UK’s largest provider of dental care, it is our responsibility to help transform how the industry removes the inequalities that unfortunately still exist within UK dentistry today. We know that while dentistry is a fantastic career pathway for so many and while we support over 4 million patients, there is still work to be done to open up dental careers to hugely talented people from underrepresented groups and to end oral health inequalities. That’s why we’re pledging £1m to set up the mydentist Foundation and to partner with Dentaid, who are working tirelessly to support vulnerable people in accessing the oral health care they need and deserve.
“This is a proud moment for mydentist because, through the Foundation, we will be better placed than ever before to support charities, communities and underrepresented groups across the country, ultimately transforming the way dentistry is delivered in the UK.”
Tom Riall, Chair of the mydentist Foundation Board, commented: “It is a huge honour to be asked to Chair the mydentist Foundation, allowing us to extend our support to improve access to care for under-served communities and to help those wanting to enter the dental profession. The new Foundation will make an enormous difference to so many.”
Nyree Whitley, Chief Clinical Officer at mydentist, commented: “What makes mydentist unique is our people. Their drive and determination to provide oral health care to as many people in the UK as possible is palpable through the dedication, care and empathy that they bring to their roles every single day. The mydentist Foundation is a huge step forward for us and will enable us to achieve this on a larger scale than ever before, allowing us to support more communities in need of vital dental care, increase our charitable donations, and help remove barriers to entry to the profession by working with leading universities and creating industry-leading pathways for nurses to develop and grow into Orthodontic Therapist, Therapist and Hygienist roles.”
Nyree added: “The work that Dentaid do to provide dental care to vulnerable groups is admirable and crucial to removing barriers of access so that people can get the care that they need. I know that clinicians and nurses within our network are looking forward to providing hands-on support as we embark on delivering 120 outreach clinics every year.”
Nilesh Pandya concludes: “This is the first step of many, as we launch the mydentist Foundation. I am hopeful that through the Foundation, we can extend our care and support to more communities than ever before, spark new connections, create opportunities and leave a legacy we can all be deeply proud of. Helping the nation smile by transforming the UK dental industry is not just mydentist’s mission, it is also our responsibility.”
Andy Evans, Chief Executive Officer at Dentaid The Dental Charity, commented: “Dentaid the Dental Charity is immensely proud to be chosen as mydentist’s charity partner with the provision of a new environmentally conscious charity dental unit. We’ve worked together for some time now, and mydentist previously donated a van to us in 2022, which is now coming towards the end of its life. This new partnership will allow us to see a huge number of patients and deliver critical dental care to vulnerable groups across the UK. We look forward to working with mydentist and to meeting clinicians and nurses from the organisation who would like to volunteer on the unit in the coming months.”
The new Dentaid vehicle is expected to be ready for use in October, when mydentist and Dentaid hope to deliver its first clinic in Blackpool in November.
To learn more about the mydentist Foundation and its Ambassador Board, please visit: https://www.mydentist.co.uk/about-us/mydentist-foundation
To find out more about Dentaid, the dental charity, visit: https://www.dentaid.org/
