First graders are the perfect age to learn important lessons about oral health and caring for their teeth that can last a lifetime.
“They are an excellent audience. First graders are taking on more responsibilities; it’s the age when they start brushing on their own and they need information. They are influenced by what they learn at school,” said Dr. Eileen Crespo, a practicing pediatrician and Vice President of Medical Services at Delta Dental of Minnesota.
During February, which is Children’s Dental Health Month in Minnesota, the Delta Dental Foundation of Minnesota is delivering some 50,000 dental health kits and educational materials to first graders at 628 schools in every county in the state.
The kits contain a toothbrush, fluoridated toothpaste, floss, a water bottle, an oral health educational booklet and a two-minute timer so the children can get in the habit of brushing twice a day for the recommended two minute time.
For some, the kits and lessons may prove crucial in helping to prevent the oral health problems which plague many Minnesota children.
“The Smiles@School program gives children the supplies they need. Not every kid has their own toothbrush unfortunately,” said Crespo. “It’s a sad truth that access (to dental care) is a significant issue having to do with if they are insured, if they can find a clinic in their community. There are language barriers and transportation issues.”
The consequences for inadequate or nonexistent dental care can be quite high and take a toll on entire families.
According to Delta Dental experts, one out of every five Minnesota third-graders have untreated tooth decay; cavities or tooth decay is the most prevalent chronic infectious disease in children and many students are absent from school because of dental pain.
“When kids have poor oral health in childhood they can miss school, they’re not focusing, they’re not learning. They might be up all night because their teeth are hurting. That impacts the child’s life and the parents’ life, too; they’re up all night and sometimes they can’t go to work,” Crespo said.
This month Crespo and her Delta Dental colleagues are visiting first grade classrooms around the state to share the message with the students and their teachers. They surveyed educators at the 628 schools served by Smiles@School and found that about half the schools did not have an oral health care program or curriculum, making the information and dental kits all the more valuable.
“Poor oral health in childhood extending into adulthood has been associated with chronic disease: heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, early delivery of infants, very significant health issues,” she said. “We want to be sure kids get the messaging when they are young so they set their routines and their parents reinforce brushing and supervise getting their kids to the dentist.”