Jason Wong, interim chief dental officer for England, and Shannu Bhatia, the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry’s (BSPD) president-elect, presented the NASDAL (National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants and Lawyers) Dental Check by One (DCby1) Practice of the Year Award at BDIA (British Dental Industry Association) Dental Showcase.

This award is presented by NASDAL to recognise the outstanding commitment of practices to the DCby1 campaign. Launched by the BSPD in partnership with the Office of the Chief Dental Officer England, the campaign aims to increase the number of children who access dental care aged 0- two by encouraging dental appointments for babies before their first birthday.

The winner of the NASDAL Dental Check by One Practice of the Year 2024 Award and the £1000 prize is Moti Smile Design Centre, Leicester.

Heidi Marshall, chair of NASDAL, said, “To see the huge efforts put in by practices up and down the UK into DCby1 is humbling. It is abundantly clear that it means so much to many practices and at NASDAL we feel honoured to be able to support this initiative. We hope our award and the £1000 that the winning practice receives will enable them to achieve even more access for children and babies moving forward. NASDAL has always been keen to recognise business excellence in dentistry - this award illustrates that doing the right thing makes good business sense too.

“Huge congratulations go to our winner, Moti Smile Design Centre in Leicester. We were impressed with their dedication to a team approach to Dental Check by One. They have a direct but consultative approach - they talk to all their patients. And not just the dentists or the Oral Health Educators - all of them - nurses and receptionists too. They are a family practice and this means they can convey the prevention message across a whole family rather than just to individuals. It can lead to an element of ‘peer pressure’ as children and other family members can encourage parents to adopt advice. The practice aims to deliver behavioural change. They are a worthy winner of the NASDAL Dental Check by One Practice of the Year 2024 award.”

Hanif Moti, principal of Moti Smile Design Centre, said, “Our team are absolutely over the moon to win this award. I am pleased as it recognises the massive contribution of our fantastic team here at Moti Smile Design Centre. Without them, we couldn’t improve the oral health of local children in the way we have been. We look forward to building upon this success and investing more of our time and funds to get the Dental Check by One message out to as many people as possible.”

Shannu Bhatia, president-elect of BSPD, commented, “The DCby1 initiative is now in its eighth year, having run since 2017. The awarding of the NASDAL DCby1 prize is an important moment as we review and recognise the efforts of dental practices up and down the country who are using creative approaches to successfully implement the DCby1 campaign. In a time of pressure on dental services, initiatives like this one become more important than ever and so it is with gratitude that we award Moti Smile Design Centre as the winner. Their family-focus approach brings-to-life the spirit that currently children’s oral health is everyone’s business and working on a preventative approach is critical. Congratulations to Moti Smile Design Centre!”

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