Having co-owned a dental practice near Hull, Nicki was witness to a never-ending stream of children with severe oral health needs. The state of children’s oral health was shocking pre Covid-19 but the crisis and the lack of accessibility to NHS dentistry has compacted the problem. The number one reason that children are admitted to hospital in the UK is to have teeth extracted. Over 48,000 children were given general anaesthetic to have teeth extracted in 2023. Many under 5’s are even having full clearances.

The poverty crisis has impacted children’s oral health even further. Many parents cannot even afford to buy a toothbrush and toothpaste for their children! Evidence shows that 4 out of 5 teachers report that they are handing out toothbrushes and toothpaste. Please see the attached article –  https://dentistry.co.uk/2023/02/06/shocking-survey-shows-four-in-five-teachers-provide-students-with-toothpaste/. It’s a third world state of affairs.

Here are just a few articles which further spell out the national problem we are facing:

In response to this escalating problem and the impact it is having on attendance figures at primary schools,  Nicki decided to launch a national campaign to educate children, provide magical oral health resources and alleviate the inherent fear of the dentist that many children seem to have. Central to this campaign is the book that Nicki and her daughter have recently published entitled The Magic Dentist. Nicki has written the words and Izzy has created the illustrations. Here is a description of the book:

 

 

 

 

 

The Magic Dentist is a brand-new initiative whereby primary schools can access a magical, educational oral health package created by experts and purchase the Magic Dentist book which consolidates a child’s learning. Teachers can invite dental care professionals and magicians into their school to help to bring the learning to life and learn how to deliver oral health education them selves.

The launch of the Magic Dentist was featured on Calendar news and BBC Breakfast in June 2023. Here is the coverage – https://www.facebook.com/518047106/videos/1318799135388707/.

The main aim of the project is to support teachers to deliver oral health education as part of the national curriculum and to help alleviate the increasingly high number of missed school days due to toothache and other associated oral health problems. Nicki has brought the book, The Magic Dentist, to life in animated cartoons and has created an educational package with experts for schools to use. This is a mixture of face to camera teaching intertwined with the animated learning. The injection of magic is proven to engage the children at the highest level and even the early years children are absorbing much more advanced content than Nicki had ever imagined. The Magic Dentist book consolidates the child’s learning in the classroom.