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Lego heads wired to educate dental patients
10th Mar 2011
One of the main aims of the 2010 National Orthodontic Week (NOW) was raising public awareness – and a number of novel initiatives were developed to engage with them during the campaign in order to highlight the benefits of orthodontic treatment.
After a high-profile launch at the V&A Museum of Childhood last month, the British Orthodontics Society (BOS) staged a week of fun at the museum during half term week, offering visitors the chance to ‘Meet an orthodontist'.
This is the museum's busiest week, when 2,000-plus people a day visit, and the Society was given a plum position in the dining area from which they could offer members of the public advice about orthodontics and what it could achieve for them.
In order to engage with as many young people as possible, the Society commissioned two designers from Legoland to build two Lego heads – graphically illustrating a mouth ‘before' and ‘after' orthodontic treatment.
Visitors were asked to estimate the number of bricks used to make both heads and Philips provided a prize of a Sonicare For Kids for the entrant whose answer was closest to the right number.
Chairman of the British Orthodontic Society, Dr Nigel Harradine, along with orthodontic consultant, Nikki Johnson, appeared on 15 radio stations during launch day, providing interviews and answering questions about orthodontic treatment.
Post-broadcast analysis showed they reached an audience of two million listeners and were on air for a total of one hour and 40 minutes, reaching stations as far afield as Newcastle and the Channel Islands as well as specialist stations targeting both Christian and Punjabi audiences.
Practices the length and breadth of Britain put on their own National Orthodontic Week initiatives and hightlights included a charity bike ride the equivalent distance of Land's End to John O'Groats, carried out on a static exercise bike in a practice waiting room, while another held a poster design competition with an art exhibition of the winning entries displayed in the practice during NOW.
One practice used puppets with large teeth as part of their public outreach initiative, while another gave out NOW branded water bottles to commuters at a local train station.
If you would like to listen to all the radio broadcasts; see pictures of the Lego heads; participate in the recipe competition [see below], download the winning entries that have already been submitted, in fact to see details of the whole campaign, the dedicated National Orthodontic Week website address is www.nowsmile.org.
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