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Preventive Tactics Increase Awareness of Early Childhood Cavities
| Name | Marlyne R. Walker | | Situation | Tooth decay or dental cavities is one of the most common chronic childhood diseases in the United States. According to the Surgeon General, more than 50% of children by middle childhood and more than 80% by late adolescence have acquired this preventable, infectious disease. Untreated cavities may cause pain, early tooth loss, impaired speech development, absence from school, reduced school performance, problems with eating and chewing, failure to thrive, slowed growth, poor weight gain, low self esteem, poor social relationships – problems that greatly reduce a child’s capacity to succeed in school and life. With a high number of children living in poverty in Newberry County (23.7% according to 2003 Kids Count), it is estimated that approximately 2088 of these youth under the age of 18 are not receiving adequate dental care. Many families in the county lack the education pertaining to healthy lifestyle needed to train their children to be healthy. When you add the lack of dental/health insurance or other resources to comply with basic home dental instruction and maintain proper home care for healthy child development, the problems become compounded.
| | Response | To confront this preventable disease, dental cavities, and to increase community awareness, Newberry Clemson Extension Service, in collaboration with Newberry County Health Department, Newberry County school nurses, Newberry County First Steps and local dentist offices, has planned and developed an oral health and nutrition education program. The overall goal of this project is to inform and educate (in interesting and creative ways), the message about the importance of healthy foods and dental health for all children in Newberry County. The goals focus on education regarding nutritional status, prevention, personal oral hygiene care, and the encouragement to seek regular professional oral health care. The county agent’s role in the project was to increase understanding of basic oral health concepts and to encourage and develop the habits of tooth brushing and healthy eating at a young age (0- 5). The county agent presented 30 minutes oral health and nutrition lessons to preschool children, their parents and/or child care providers. A demonstration of proper oral hygiene techniques was made (i.e. brushing, flossing, etc.) with distribution of those items demonstrated (preventive tactics) including age appropriate toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, along with oral health and nutrition brochures and coloring books with dental health message and a sample of healthy food item.
| | Impact | There was an increased awareness of early childhood cavities and preventive tactics for parents with preschool children. Workshops with parents of preschool children revealed 90% of the parents did not know it was recommended to take their child to the dentist by the first birthday and 90% of the parents did not know what caused early childhood cavities prior to the oral health lesson plan presented by the agent. Also noted: A preschool student told the agent that “I brush my teeth with my ‘special toothbrush’ … the one I got from school…” |
Last update8/15/2007
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