The Dental Health Foundation is delighted to deliver an oral health component of the community-based men’s health promotion programme 'Sheds for Life', to Sheds around the country. In recent years we have delivered workshops to sheds in Kildare, Dublin, Donegal, Sligo and Cork. Our last visit is November 2024 to Tipperary and Wexford.
It is generally known that men are less likely than women to take care of their overall health, including oral health, and that they tend to brush and floss their teeth less regularly. Men also may avoid going to the dentist, and so our aim was to support and encourage men to be proactive in maintaining good oral health.
Topics covered:
What is Oral health? (more than a nice smile…) It is about taking good care of your mouth, teeth, gums, being free of pain, tooth decay, gum disease, tooth loss.
A healthy mouth is crucial for general health and wellbeing.
Oral health & General Health have two-way relationship.
Impact on other aspects of life.
Oral diseases and Common Risk Factors with other diseases.
Why good oral health is important for all life stages.
Prevention - How to look after your oral health (healthy diet, smoking, alcohol, oral hygiene habits, dental check-ups etc).
Oral health and sports.
Oral health and medications.
Sheds for Life is a tailored 10 week Health and Well Being programme brought to Sheds nationwide and designed in collaboration with Men in Sheds. The aim of Sheds for Life is to facilitate ways for men to enhance their wellbeing by building upon the strengths of the Shed and using the wealth of knowledge and experience that exists in its members.
Sheds for Life covers key areas that aim to enhance the physical, mental and social wellbeing. The ten-weeks kick off with a health check where men will be offered a free, private health screening by a qualified nurse. Over the ten weeks men will be invited to take part in core modules covering physical activity, healthy cooking and mental health.
Sheds will also be offered additional choices from a range of ‘Let’s Talk About’ workshops with may cover topics including men’s cancer, dementia, diabetes, eye & ear health, and teeth & mouth health.
‘The IMSA has worked collaboratively with the Dental Health Foundation over the last two years to engage men on the topic of oral health. The Dental Health Foundation developed a male tailored oral health resource specifically for distribution to our men’s sheds around the country and provided outreach talks to the sheds. The development of gender specific resources and programmes has been identified as a key mechanism in engaging men to take care of their health. The partnership between our two organisations has been based on a vision of improving men’s health in Ireland and making a commitment to sustainable changes in the area.’