STAFF at a Bexleyheath orthodontics practice have been out and about in the borough celebrating the first National Orthodontic Week.

Orthodontics is a specialist kind of dentistry which deals with the growth of teeth and jaws.

Nearly a million people started some kind of orthodontic treatment in the UK last year and Britain is one of the few countries where treatment for the under-18s is usually free.

Chapel Road Orthodontics marked the week, which has been launched by the British Orthodontic Society, by getting out into the community to tell people more about the importance of oral hygiene and the benefits orthodontics can bring.

With support from June Morris and Heidi Claisse from Greenwich and Bexley Primary Dental Care Service, practice staff visited primary schools, including Barrington Primary School, Bexleyheath, and Merton Court School in Sidcup and held a promotion event in the Broadway shopping centre, including a celebrity smile competition.

A new website nowsmile.org provides a host of information and advice about orthodontic treatment and where to get it.