Amazing Amelia Debuts in Dental Services! | Charity News

Specialised Oral Health Improvement Practitioner Team Lead Stacey Quinton has launched her educational storybook, Amazing Amelia’s Happy Teeth, thanks to funding from BCHC Charity.

Stacey wanted to develop a resource to provide key oral health information in an easy-to-understand way, which can be used by Early Years workers, Health Visitors, School Nurses, and school staff to support the improvement of oral health outcomes for children. “I identified a need to create a book which presented the evidence-based information in a format which was fun, visual, and inclusive of children with additional needs. I have also been blessed with a beautiful granddaughter named Amelia and she was a great inspiration for me to create this book as a celebration of her arrival!” 

The book was brought to life by BCHC’s Clinical Illustration Team and tells the story of Amelia on a trip to the dentist, where she learns all about the importance of regular visits to the dentist, the necessity of twice daily toothbrushing, the benefits of fluoride toothpaste, and choosing healthy snacks & drinks. It also provides information for parents and carers on accessing NHS dental services, and how to access specialised community paediatric dental services for those with children with additional needs.

“My previous years of experience as a Community Dental Nurse provided the opportunity to work with children and their families within a dental environment. I discovered that inventing little stories can really help a child to visualise their dental visit and can support them to make positive changes for their oral health.”

The book was illustrated by Heather Robinson, Vicky Oakley, and Bethan Reast, who work in the Clinical Illustration Team at BCHC. Heather said, “It was great to bring ‘Amazing Amelia’ to life through colourful, eye-catching, and accessible illustrations. Amelia was a well thought out inclusive character, and it was lovely to be able to illustrate such a positive experience of visiting the dentist. I know that if I had read a book like this as a child, I might have found the dentist more fun instead of a scary experience!” It was important to both Stacey and the design team that the book portrayed the visit to the dentist as something to look forward to, to help reduce any anxiety children may have around attending their appointments. 

Amazing Amelia’s Happy Teeth was piloted in appropriate settings, and feedback was sought from children, parents, carers, service users, and educational and healthcare professionals. As a result of this, Stacey was able to reflect on the content and make improvements, and so she approached the charity about funding to get the book printed.

Charity Manager Sarah Binks reflects on working with Stacey to make this vision a reality; “ Amazing Amelia is a project that so clearly aligns with BCHC Charity’s commitment to improving health outcomes for children and families. Stacey’s passion, professional expertise, and thoughtful approach have resulted in a resource that is engaging, inclusive, and genuinely impactful. By presenting vital oral health messages in a way that is accessible and reassuring for children, particularly those with additional needs, this book has the potential to make a lasting difference. We’re incredibly proud to have supported this initiative and to see it brought to life by such talented teams across BCHC.”

The book was launched at a special event at the Brier school on Thursday 16 July, including a reading by Oral Health Improvement Practitioner Helen Potter. Feedback provided by parents, children, carers, and healthcare professionals showed that 100% rated the book as 5 out of 5 for supporting children to visit the dentist, with comments such as; “I really loved the book, and my child was able to interact and read it easily with me”, that it is “a lovely resource for the children”, and that it has a “good use of imagery to support the text." The Assistant Head Teacher added that “we are looking forward to adding this to our library!”

Over the coming months, printed versions of the book will be distributed to primary schools, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) settings, Family Hubs, and targeted nursery settings that are participating in the "Brilliant Brushers" supervised toothbrushing programme, delivered by the Oral Health Improvement Team throughout Birmingham, Sandwell, Dudley, and Walsall.

An audio version of the book  has been created for children who are visually impaired or for those who wish to use the story book as a digital resource. This is also available by scanning the QR code to the right.