For those of you who don’t know, my past life was spent working for an oral care company that focused on natural products – so I’d be lying if I said I didn’t know that February was National Children’s Dental Health Month and that February 3rdmarks the ADA’s Give Kids a Smile Program – but I’d bet money that it’s not something most people are aware of. So I thought I’d write a post with some information about it for you to share with your communities.
The Give Kids a Smile® Program is geared toward giving children, especially those in underserved communities, better oral care and access to oral health care services that they don’t receive on a regular basis as well as identifying the unmet need for those policy makers that can make a difference. Dentists around the country participate in the program by providing free or low cost services to families in need of assistance and in helping build good oral care habits from an early age.
In honor of the Give Kids a Smile® Program (as well as National Children’s Dental Health Month), here are a few things I bet you didn’t know about oral health:
- Dental caries (known by most of us as cavities!) remains the most common chronic disease in the U.S. in both children and adults
- Recent research has identified periodontal disease (gum diseases) as a risk factor for a number of chronic & systemic diseases including heart & lung disease and diabetes
- More than 75% of U.S. adults have some form of gum disease, while advanced gum disease affects 4-12% of U.S. adults
- Oral cancer strikes an estimated 35,000 Americans each year – of these, 25% will die of the disease and only half of all patients diagnosed with oral cancer survive more than five years
- Though women are more likely to take better care of their teeth than men, women are more susceptible to periodontal problems and can suffer from hormone-influenced gingivitis
Oral health is something that’s important to patients in all conditions so be sure to promote good oral care within your community this month!
For additional ways to get involved or for more information you can visit the official Give Kids a Smile® page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/GiveKidsASmile), the National Children’s Dental Health Month section of the ADA website (http://www.ada.org/5578.aspx), or just give your dentist a call.
Friday, February 3rd, 2012, 9:43 am | 
February | 
RSS feed
| 
Respond | 
Trackback