The opening of a dental surgery in the grounds of Bradford City Football Club’s Valley Parade home might at first seem like something of a light-hearted gimmick.

One can imagine football fans nipping in to the surgery at half-time for a quick filling.

But dental health and access to dentists is one of the biggest health issues of the modern day, and any initiative – no matter how outlandish it seems – which improves the availability of NHS dentistry is to be applauded.

Of course, the surgery isn’t just for football fans, it is for the community of Manningham, where the club is based.

Bradford regularly gets a poor showing in league tables of dental health, and anything that can drive home the message that looking after our teeth can have far wider ranging health benefits can only be a good thing.

It also works the other way, and establishes Bradford City more fully in the community which it calls home.

Football is a very important part of many people’s lives, and people follow their team with almost religious devotion.

If a little of that can rub off on people and encourage them to put the same energies into supporting their own health, then everyone is a winner.