A mobile dental unit is going to be visiting Cornish ports over the next four months to offer treatment to fishermen and their families.

They will be able to access free dental checks, emergency treatment and oral cancer screening.

The treatment will relieve any immediate dental problems including simple tooth extraction, permanent fillings and scale and polish with referrals through NHS routes where more complex oral surgery is required. 

These health events, now in their seventh year, are made possible by Seafarers Hospital Society (SHS) and Smile Together, thanks to generous funding from the Department for Transport via the Merchant Navy Welfare Board. They are delivered in partnership with The Fishermen’s Mission as part of their national SeaFit service.

Sandra Welch, chief executive officer of SHS said “We are delighted to continue our support of the work of Smiles at Sea as part of SeaFit, and I truly believe this is an excellent example of how partners can collaborate together to bring health services to the quayside and make a real difference in our coastal communities.” 

Alison Cane, outreach manager at Smile Together, said: “We’re passionate about tackling oral health inequality in our communities and this will be the seventh consecutive year that we have visited local harboursides across Cornwall and Devon to improve the oral health of fishermen and their families who so rarely get to see a dentist due to the demands of their work. 

“Everyone who attends will receive one of our oral health packs including toothbrushes, toothpaste and a two-minute timer along with top dental tips for all the family, signposting information to emergency dental care and healthy snacks, plus be entered into a free prize draw.

“We are also encouraging people to bring along their old toothbrushes, empty toothpaste tubes and associated packaging for recycling through our commitment to Colgate TerraCycle.”

Carol Elliott, manager for The Fishermen’s Mission’s national SeaFit service, added: “We are thrilled to be partnering once again with Smile Together and making a difference in our South West coastal communities. 

“We are able to visit even more harbourside locations this year where Healthy Cornwall will also be providing free health checks and, in most locations, we’ll also be joined by a range of SeaFit healthcare partners. 

“We hope that by spreading the visits over a four-month period this year, even more fishermen and their families will be able to access this vital care and ensure safety at sea.”

The 2023 #SmilesAtSeaUK tour starts in Newlyn on September 14 and will be visiting eight harbourside locations until December 14.

In 2022 Smiles at Sea visited five harbourside locations over eight days treating 103 fishermen (active and retired) and their dependent family members – 12 per cent of whom hadn’t visited a dentist for five years or more. They carried out 37 fillings, 10 extractions/root removals, 25 scale and polish and 10 X-rays, with 13 patients referred for urgent care/complex urgent minor oral surgery and/or to Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust for suspected oral cancer.  Last year Smile Together and the Fishermen’s Mission also created a ‘checking for mouth cancer at sea’ video to encourage fishermen to regularly look for any unusual changes in the mouth between annual harbourside visits.