What started as a one-day event, first held on February 3, 1941 in Cleveland, Ohio has grown over the years to a month-long celebration that highlights the importance of healthy oral health habits in children. Every February, Northeast Delta Dental joins the American Dental Association and organizations across the country to recognize National Children’s Dental Health Month, focusing on the long-term benefits of establishing good oral health in children at a young age. Here at Northeast Delta Dental, we concentrate a lot of effort on promoting whole-body health, with employees and their families, and in the communities we serve. Supporting ski events, road races, employee health challenges and of course children’s health charitable organizations are just a few ways we like to spread the message. As you can imagine, we all understand the important role oral health plays in whole-body health!
The Centers for Disease Control highlights an important statistic- tooth decay is one of the most chronic childhood diseases in the United States and is linked to children missing more school and receiving lower grades than those that don’t experience dental challenges. One simple solution is ensuring that children know how to care for their teeth and why it is important to their whole-body health as they grow. The partnership you create with your dental provider is an important one. Not only will they assist in supporting your dental health, they are a great resource when you have questions and concerns about a child’s dental health. They can help with important questions and dental health challenges that may come about as a child grows, all while supporting the establishment of vital habits at a young age.
One important step adults can take is modeling healthy oral health habits of their own, including brushing and flossing twice a day, regular dental visits and drinking plenty of water. By doing these simple things we are showing children how to care for their teeth properly to help prevent tooth decay, gum disease and other dental issues.
There are also other great tools and organizations that share helpful information including one program developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics called, Brush, Book, Bed. The program uses three simple steps that can be used to make brushing and flossing a part of a child’s nightly routine. We also offer important tips on our website about the importance of taking a child to the dentist by the age of 1. I encourage you to take a look at the tools and tips we have available as part of our dentist by 1TMprogram.
Take a few minutes to check out our Grin! For Kids magazine, full of fun kid-friendly activities, recipes, important information and more and stay tuned into our other channels this month as we continue to share important information all month long in celebration of National Children’s Dental Health Month.