Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/beyond-the-tooth-fairy/5023116/
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
Goethe
A Call to Action
According to estimates, almost 40% of 2- to 8-year-olds experience tooth decay,1 an oral disease that is five times more common than childhood asthma. Oral disease causes pain and problems with eating, speaking, learning, and sleeping. Children may suffer from inattention and distractibility, thus impacting readiness for school.2 Additionally, young children who are still developing their language skills may be unable to express the pain they are experiencing.
Living with constant oral pain is far too heavy a burden to place on young children while they are rapidly growing and developing. This is unacceptable, given that dental decay is almost 100% preventable and oral disease prevention strategies are well understood.3
How does an early learning program use current knowledge about oral disease prevention to improve the oral health of young children? Program managers can develop and implement oral health and nutrition policies and practices to reduce oral disease within the classroom or family child care setting.4 During daily routines, teachers can integrate healthy eating and oral hygiene habits to show children how to prevent dental decay. Healthy self-care behaviors, such as supervised toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste, introduce young children to ...