Claire Stevens – aka the ‘Toothfairy’ – has been appointed a CBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List in recognition of her tireless commitment to improving children’s oral health
She is to be awarded the highest of the three orders of the British Empire, recognising the importance of children’s dentistry, her work for the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry and the commitment she has shown to being an advocate for children’s oral health.
Healthy teeth for life should be every child’s right and it is this message that Claire works to share and promote. She thinks that dental decay is almost entirely preventable and by working together, everyone in healthcare can play a part in reducing the scourge of dental decay.
In the day, she works as a consultant in paediatric dentistry in Greater Manchester’s Health and Social Care Partnership and she is also the chair of the managed clinical network for paediatric dentistry in Greater Manchester and an expert advisor to the Brush DJ app.
She has been instrumental in connecting her hospital with a programme designed to reduce obesity in Greater Manchester’s children.
A mother to two young children and the founder of the Toothfairy blog, she has thrown herself both personally and professionally into reversing the tide of general anaesthetics for multiple extractions in children.
Claire commented: ‘This award feels momentous because it has been made for services to children’s oral health. At last we are recognising the importance of supporting every child to grow up free of dental disease.’
‘I am the public face of the campaign to improve children’s oral health, but this isn’t just about me.
‘Others have smoothed the way, and I am privileged to work alongside many people who continue to dedicate their lives to improving children’s health.
My advocacy has only worked thanks to all those who collaborate and work with me, in BSPD, in Greater Manchester and within the profession. To them I pay tribute.’
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