Fiona Duncan:Oral Health Improvement Practitioner (OHIP)

PROFILE

Fiona Duncan:Oral Health Improvement Practitioner (OHIP)

I work for NHS Argyll & Bute, my base is Cowal Community Hospital Dental Dept in Dunoon, and I cover the Cowal & Bute area.

I work alongside an Oral Health Support Worker (OHSW)

A & B also has Ohip / Ohsw teams in Helensburgh, Lochgilphead, Oban, Campbeltown and Islay.

We have twice yearly meetings, normally in Lochgilphead, as that’s most central.

Though we do try and have social get-togethers too.

Just last month we had a Saturday out in Byres Road, Glasgow.

Our colleague Linda got the 5am ferry from Islay!! Well worth it though, as we had great fun as usual

My Role

My job is mostly out and about in the community though I also work closely with the hospital dental team

I visit schools and nurseries to monitor the toothbrushing programme , deliver oral health talks and apply fluoride varnish twice a year – Childsmile
Deliver training sessions in Care Homes for carers – Caring4Smiles
make sure the local homeless agency have a supply of toothbrushes, toothpaste and contact details of local dentists to hand out – Smiles4Life

I also make sure I have an event to mark -

National Smile Month, No Smoking Day and Mouth Cancer Awareness Month

As you can see I always have something on the go!

My role is important as it gives people the facts on how to look after their own oral health, enabling them to speak, eat and smile with confidence. Also, your general health can suffer if your oral health is not good.

Most challenging part of my job is making sure my presentations are interesting and interactive.

Luckily I attended a fantastic 3 day course last summer – Creative and Imaginative Learning (CIL). Our new Caring4Smiles presentation is based on this and the evaluations have been so positive 

Most interesting part has been a very recent project that involved a large part of the local community. I produced an anti-smoking dvd that was premiered on No Smoking Day at the local cinema. Dunoon Grammar School pupils appeared in the drama, as did the actor David Hayman and stars of BBC’s River City!! It was filmed by David Hayman’s charity organisation ‘Spirit Aid’. It was hard work but fun too and I am absolutely chuffed to bits with the final result.

I also enjoy working with the nurseries and primary schools – the children have always got lots of intelligent questions and very interesting and funny stories to tell (not always tooth related!)

Personal Attributes needed –

Definitely excellent communication and organizational skills

Qualifications –

Need to train as a dental nurse first