02 Jun 2017

Eighty-nine-year-old Muriel Warren from Langley Mill in Derbyshire has been announced as the third winner of this year’s ‘Nominate A Smile’ competition after she proved to have a timelessly wonderful smile.

The Oral Health Foundation, who organise the competition during National Smile Month, handpicked Muriel as one of their faces of National Smile Month 2017 from hundreds of entries received by the charity.

Muriel, who turns ninety next week, was nominated by her granddaughter Amy Booth, who said: “My lovely grandma has an incredibly natural smile which I think is just amazing and she is simply a wonderful person.

“Just to see her and talk to her makes me smile every single time and I know she has the same effect on many, many people.”

The Oral Health Foundation visited Muriel and Amy on what was Muriel’s 65th wedding anniversary to award her with a prize, a smiley bouquet of flowers, and she was beaming from ear to ear.

Amy added: “This is a wonderful anniversary and birthday present from my grandmother and one which she truly deserves.”

The Nominate a Smile competition is a key part of National Smile Month and sets out to find very special people with smiles that truly touch the people around them.

CEO of the Oral Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter OBE, said: “We felt that Muriel encapsulated everything that National Smile Month stands for; a great big smile that makes others round them smile and are delighted to call her one of the faces of National Smile Month 2017.

“Most of us are blessed with having a special person in our life who is close to our heart and always has the ability to put a smile on our face and for Amy that is her wonderful grandmother.”

Unlike many people of her generation, Muriel has all of her own teeth, something which has been proven to be a sign of a long, happy and healthy life.

Dr Carter continued: “Many people of Muriel’s generation actually lost their teeth in early adulthood, so to hear that she has managed to keep her natural teeth approaching her 90th birthday is a fantastic acheivement. It shows that she has taken great care of them throughout her life, we hope many people follow her lead and take care of their own amazing smiles for many of years.

“Congratulations to Muriel, we are sure everyone can agree that she is a very worthy winner.”

Running from 15 May to 15 June, National Smile Month encourages all dental and health professionals, schools, pharmacies, community groups, colleges and workplaces to join in and ‘educate, motivate and communicate’ positive oral health messages and improve the quality of smiles.

The campaigns three key messages are; brush your teeth last thing at night and on at least one other occasion with a fluoride toothpaste, cut down on how often you have sugary foods and drinks and visit your dentist regularly, as often as they recommend.