Welcome to the RETURN Online Toolkit
This toolkit is designed to support people to take steps towards visiting a dentist, including making their next appointment or working towards regular dental check-ups — even when this feels difficult.
This toolkit is designed to support people to take steps towards visiting a dentist, including making their next appointment or working towards regular dental check-ups — even when this feels difficult.
The toolkit can be used in two ways:
- By patients, at their own pace
- By dental team members, to support and guide patients during an urgent dental care appointment
It is particularly for people who do not currently have their own dentist, or who find dental visiting challenging. The toolkit does not find a dentist. Instead, it provides supportive resources to help people feel more confident, prepared, and able to take their next steps, even when access to dental care is limited.
The toolkit focuses on behaviour change. It helps people:
- feel less anxious or worried about dental visiting
- think differently about going to the dentist
- identify practical, realistic next steps they can take
People with real experience of difficulties accessing dental care worked alongside dental experts to shape this toolkit, ensuring it reflects what really matters.
Research has shown that using these resources helped people make an appointment — or take their first steps towards one — even when finding a dentist was difficult. It also helped reduce anxiety and change how people felt about dental visiting.
Regular dental check-ups can help spot problems early, before they become painful or more serious.