The Little Smiler's Club
‘The Little Smilers Club’ introduces a hybrid programme which combines education with therapeutic emotional support. The programme teaches young children and their parents how to preform good oral hygiene through art therapy. Alongside this, the project aims to support children emotionally through dental visits to reduce the risk of developing fears which transcend into later life.
Role
User Researcher, Service Designer, Product Designer.
Year
2019
Key Stakeholders
Tiwari Watson Dental Care
Role
Product Designer
Year
2019
Key Stakeholders
Tiwari Watson Dental Care
The Challenge
Poor oral hygiene in young children is a public emergency that needs to be addressed. The outcomes of poor oral hygiene relate to insufficient education and not visiting the dentist regularly. Research shows that children in the most deprived areas have the poorest oral hygiene. This can be due to high levels of sugar consumption and the passing on of bad habits from parents. Parental guidance on toothbrushing is the primary source of oral hygiene education given to children. '"The habits that lead to poor oral hygiene must be tackled from an early age." - Department of Health spokesperson, BBC. Inspiration for project shown in the video attached below.
The Output
The Little Smiler's Club provides an oral hygiene education programme which is both fun and intuitive for children. The aim is to transform the toothbrushing routine from a dreaded chore into a fun, family activity that children can understand the importance in. Using art therapy as a method of education works in many ways - it removes any clinical feelings associated to dental visits and toothbrushing; it is fun, engaging and practical which increases the digestion of information and finally, it works as a form of therapy to reduce anxiety, stress and fears of the dentist which is prominent in young children. Poor oral hygiene and fears of the dentist are issues which children carry through to adult hood and can be extremely difficult to reverse. The project aims to eliminate this completely changing the perspective of dental health and surgery visits into something which can be positive and playful.
Key Features
Mould kit: The moulds are taken by dental nurses at surgery appointments. This allows the child to associate getting moulds taken as something fun and reduces the anxiety that is linked to impressions which are prominent in children. It also allows the child to visualise the anatomy of their whole mouth when they are learning how to brush.
Toothbrush: Hybrid toothbrush/paintbrush. The form is created based on research into how to properly hold the toothbrush when practising good oral hygiene.
Flosser: Flossing is a vital part of the brushing routine that many people disregard. The flosser tool teaches children and their families the importance of flossing and the techniques used. The tool is used on paper mouth cutouts and origami sheets.
Paint tubes: The paint tubes mimic the feel and shape of toothpaste tubes. The colours are named after the same coloured dental products. It will allow children to come familiar with dental terminology. Therefore, when the dentist asks the assistant for any of these products they won’t sound daunting or unfamiliar.
The Design Process
User testing was done from ages 20-23. This age group was used rather than the target audience of age 7 as they are still learning how to brush their teeth themselves and may not know how to hold the toothbrush yet. Toothbrushing diaries were also conducted as part of the research and chose individuals with a good level of oral hygiene to use as a benchmark.
