By Abi Willock
A project to tackle dental poverty in Leicester has been launched by an entrepreneurial university society which aims to use sustainable development goals to change the world.
The Enactus DMU society at De Montfort University launched its latest enterprise – Project Smile – on Friday, overseen by its president, Tarnjeet Kaur.
Kushbu Lad, head of human resources of Enactus DMU, said: “Our beneficiary group for this project is children between five and nine years old because we found a lot of research about children having tooth decay, and a high percentage of those children are left untreated.”
Enactus has created dental packs using partnered sponsorships and donations from students, which include toothbrushes, toothpaste and a 30-day reward card that when completed and returned, will ensure a replenishment of dental products.
Volunteers from Enactus were delivering these dental packs to food banks around Leicester on Friday, to give to children and families in need.
Kushbu said: “The idea is to improve the behaviour of children and encourage them to brush their teeth, and improve their overall dental health.”
Future steps for the project include adding mouthwash and floss to the packs with the help of more donations and sponsorships, and the possibility of building an educational app for children to track their teeth-brushing habits.
The project will also be entered into a national Enactus project competition, and will be judged on leadership, innovation, business principles and sustainable positive impact, values which Enactus DMU encourages throughout all of its products.
If you would like to help Project Smile, you can donate a toothbrush at the reception at the Hugh Aston building on campus.
