BUILD Q1 2020 8 Oct19139 Bedfordshire and Beyond: Delivering Dental Excellence Mouths are subject to plenty of bacteria and hard work every day, from eating and drinking, to just talking. Brushing teeth and making sure that every aspect of oral health is looked after is important. For some members of society, maintaining the good oral health they need to thrive can be very difficult because of learning disabilities, mental health issues, severe dental phobia or lifestyle factors. Often these patients cannot be treated by a high street dentist. Enter Community Dental Services; a CiC (Community Interest Company) seeking to make a difference in local communities by offering dental care to disadvantaged members of society and organisations. Founded as an employee-owned social enterprise and community interest company, Community Dental Services was created in 2011 to deliver clinical dental and oral healthcare to vulnerable people and communities. The firm’s social mission is clear to see, and their pursuit of community-wide oral healthcare is admirable as they seek to make a difference across England. Working throughout Bedfordshire, Luton, Suffolk, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Leicestershire, Essex, and Lincolnshire, the firm’s presence is tangible across England. Trading as a business with a clear social purpose, Community Dental Services combine a desire to serve society with a dynamic and innovative approach to business. The result is a vision and belief that being a competitive, well-run and profitable business is key to helping to improve oral health in evermore communities. Providing full dental packages for everyone who accesses one of the company’s clinics or mobile units, Community Dental Services are contracted for NHS services across their commissioned areas. Within the clinics and mobile units, the company offer specialist services to more than just their contracted target areas. Taking care of one’s teeth is vital, and not just for a flashy smile. Community Dental Service is a CiC company seeking to offer dental care to the disadvantaged or hard-to-reach members of society across much of east and central England. Discover more about how this inspiring company are giving people hope. M As well as working alongside the most vulnerable who require extra time and support in their dental hygiene, the company also go beyond their call of duty to help even more people as a social enterprise. Thanks to their status as a social enterprise, Community Dental Services can offer private care outside of their NHS-commissioned contracts. Recently, they have worked with corporate firms, many in the construction sector, who wish to support the oral hygiene of their employees as part of their employee health and wellbeing strategy. The company delivers full dental packages for those who want to take care of their workforce’s oral hygiene or on-site oral health screening in their mobile dental clinics. Each package can be tailored to provide specific care for employees, as well as multiple sessions rather than one-offs. Any private income CDS makes is reinvested back into community oral health programmes, allowing firms the opportunity to demonstrate their own social responsibility. CDS are part of the Social Enterprise UK Buy Social Corporate Challenge.
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