Community pharmacies have a mandatory obligation to take part in the NHS England community pharmacy oral health campaign, which will run from 13 May to 13 June 2019, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has announced.

The campaign coincides with National Smile Month, an annual campaign to raise awareness about the benefits of good oral health run by the Oral Health Foundation. It is also one of the six campaigns agreed between the PSNC and NHS England as part of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework.

Between 29 April to 5 May contractors will receive supporting materials and resources from Colgate-Palmolive, which include an A3 monster teeth poster to display in the pharmacy, as well as leaflets and brushing charts for pharmacy teams to hand out to customers.

Public Health England (PHE) also has non-branded online resources available to encourage discussions about children’s oral health, including a poster showing the top three interventions for preventing tooth decay and a healthy mouth guide.

Most pharmacy teams undertook learning on children’s oral health, as part of the last quality payments scheme, according to PSNC, and this campaign builds on this and allows teams to put their learning into practice.

The PSNC urges all patient-facing staff to read NHS England's campaign letter and familiarise themselves with the messages in PHE's resources before 13 May.