>> This initiative, which has been awarded by European, national and local institutions, involves a multidisciplinary team of researchers, professors and students carrying out various activities to promote oral health, healthy nutrition and oral examination.
>> For the upcoming school year, around 1,300 schoolchildren from schools in Palma and the surrounding area will participate in activities such as oral examinations, activities to raise awareness about how to prevent oral diseases and develop healthy eating habits, as well as workshops on physical activity and health.
Since 2018, more than 8,400 preschool, primary, and secondary school children from more than 70 public, state-subsidized, and private schools in Mallorca have participated in the “Healthy Smiles” program, developed by the Oral Health and Nutritional Habits Observatory of the ADEMA University School. This initiative, which has received awards from various institutions such as the Association for European Dental Education (ADEE), which brings together all the dental schools in Europe, the Spanish Society of Epidemiology and Oral Public Health (SESPO), and the Ministry of Health of the Balearic Islands Government, among others, combines scientific research, teaching, and direct action among the school population, with the aim of promoting healthy lifestyle habits from an early age and actively contributing to disease prevention.
Over the past six years, a multidisciplinary team of teachers, researchers, and students from the Dentistry and Nutrition degrees, as well as from various vocational training courses, has developed practical workshops, awareness-raising sessions, and oral examinations with a clearly preventative focus. In the 2024-2025 academic year alone, nearly 1,100 schoolchildren participated in the activities, from the Early Childhood (214 students), Primary (725), and Secondary (160) stages, spread across the first (450) and second semesters (650). For the 2025-2026 academic year, approximately 1,300 students from different centers in Mallorca are also expected to attend.
The students have participated in activities such as oral examinations, activities to raise awareness about how to prevent oral diseases and develop healthy eating habits, as well as workshops on physical activity and health, promoting a holistic view of well-being from childhood.
According to the project coordinator, Dr. Carla Busquets, “This program has been very well received by schools in Mallorca from the very beginning. We work with an innovative educational methodology based on practical project-based learning, in which cooperative and service-based work are essential, and students’ autonomy and decision-making skills are fostered. Everyone participates, including teachers and students from university degrees and vocational training courses.”
During this latest edition, the workshops were held in around fifteen schools spread across the island, including Palma, Llucmajor, Pollença, Mancor de la Vall, and Santanyí. Participating were public schools such as Camilo José Cela, Cas Capiscol, Son Ferriol, Felip Bauçà, Son Rullan, Montaura, and Son Verí, as well as state-subsidized schools such as Balmes, San José de la Montaña, San Alfonso María de Ligorio, Sant Vicenç de Paül, and Sant Josep Obrer. Secondary schools such as Santanyí Secondary School and S’Algar, which integrates secondary education stages, also participated. This territorial and typological diversity has allowed the content to be adapted to different educational and social contexts, reinforcing the inclusive nature of the program.
For Dr. Pere Riutord, head of studies for the Bachelor in Dentistry and president of the ADEMA Research Advisory Council, “our teams provide knowledge through experiential workshops for schoolchildren and young people to implement measures for early detection of oral health risks or the presence of disease, as well as provide advice on healthy habits. The best way to prevent oral diseases is to brush your teeth properly and adopt habits that promote oral health, such as reducing the consumption of sugary foods, practicing effective oral hygiene, using fluoride, and preventing dental trauma.”
Along these same lines, the head of studies for the Bachelor in Nutrition, Dr. Alicia Julibert, emphasized that “a healthy, varied, and balanced diet contributes to improving overall health and preventing disease. From a prevention perspective, we must focus on the most disadvantaged sectors of society in order to design appropriate strategies to improve the oral and nutritional health of those most in need, as recent studies confirm.”