Lets Educate Our Kids about Good Oral Health!

Every year it seems, school starts, and then time flies!!  Before you know it, the holidays are upon us, beginning with Halloween, then Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year!!  After all the treats and goodies have tempted us and our children throughout all the festivities, we can slow down and remind ourselves, our students, and our children to eat healthy and take care of our teeth.  And that is what February’s National Children’s Dental Health Month is all about.

Speaking of how time flies, this February celebrates the 60th NCDHM since it began in 1949 promoting the development of good oral habits at an early age.  Hopefully, the awareness of the importance of implementing healthy oral habits every day will bring a lifetime of good oral health.  With everything that has been in the news recently linking systemic health with oral health, this has become an even more important issue.  So, before February has arrived, here are some ideas to get ready to educate our children!

For some great educational tools, visit ADA’s website at www.ada.org/.  On their home page, look under “The Public”, go down to “Smile Smarts!  Oral Health Care Curriculum”, and click.  You will find modular lesson plans broken into age appropriate categories for ages 4-7, 7-9, 9-12, and 12-14 years of age.  There are also support materials such as student activity sheets, and topics for discussions that can be downloaded for free.

Proctor & Gamble have a great program to help teachers provide oral health education to first grade students.  Their site states that, if you are a teacher, you will need your school’s pin number and approval from the board of education, superintendent, or principal to teach the material presented.  Unfortunately, the dental kits they offer for the students cannot be ordered at this time.  They recommend that orders be placed no later than August for the coming school year.  However, the instructor’s guide, activity sheets, parent brochures, and student tracking charts in both English and Spanish can be downloaded.  Go to www.pgschoolprograms.com/oral_care to check this resource out.

If you go to www.dentalcare.com (also owned by Proctor & Gamble) and click on “Patient Education”, several options open up.  You can click on “Activity Sheets”, and there are several sheets to choose from in different age categories that can be downloaded for free.  There is also some useful information under “Parents Guides” and in “Children’s Teeth”.

Colgate/Palmolive also has some information that can be downloaded.  Go to www.colgate.com/ and click on “Oral Care.”  Scroll down the page and you will find a “For Teachers” corner where you can register for some free classroom educational materials and videos.  There is also “Kids World” that has some fun games on the computer and some activity sheets that can be downloaded for free.

Of course, if you live in Kern County, and it is convenient for you, stop by our own resource library located at 1800 30th Street, Suite 230, Bakersfield, CA.  We have a variety of fun games, videos, books, puzzles, and tooth puppets and models that can be borrowed by parents, teachers, or anyone wishing to help educate a young audience about the importance of good oral health.  Our friendly staff is also available to help answer questions you might have, or help with any information you may need regarding oral health care.   You do not need an appointment.  We are open from 7:30 AM until 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday.  


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