How Dental Offices Can Support Oral Health Education in Their Communities

A great number of kids in the United States don’t know what causes dental disease and how they can prevent tooth decay. The result is often a lifetime of poor oral health, contributing to lower grades and self-image, limited job opportunities, and poorer overall health.

Family Promise of Las Vegas provides displaced families the opportunity to achieve housing stability by providing short term transitional shelter, case management and essential needs. Their staff members hold oral health education resources and hygiene supplies. The education kits were sponsored by SunBrite Dental, a dental care provider located in Las Vegas that participates in the Smile Guardian Program of America’s ToothFairy.

America’s ToothFairy believes every child should know how to keep their smile healthy and have what they need to prevent tooth decay. In 2019, the nonprofit foundation began developing education resource kits to help oral health advocates and safety-net dental care providers teach families about the importance of oral health and how to prevent dental disease.

“When we launched our Smile Guardian education initiative five years ago, our intention was to provide a way for dental offices to support oral health education within their own communities,” said America’s ToothFairy’s executive director, Jill Malmgren.

“The organizations that have access to the children who are most at risk for dental disease often lack engaging printed materials, which can be quite expensive to produce. What we didn’t expect was generous contributions from larger corporate entities that helped us develop materials with special themes to address the different habits that impact oral health.”

What started as a small-scale initiative has grown into a full-blown program supported by industry leaders such as Patterson Dental Supply, Delta Dental, MGE Management Experts, Cranberry, Crest, Oral-B, and many others, reaching more than 132,000 kids and their caregivers.

Some kits, such as those designed for use at public library storytime events, include dental-themed storybooks. Others include superhero capes and masks that empower kids to be “Oral Health Action Heroes.”

Other kit items can include:

• activity booklets for kids,
• informational brochures for parents,
• bookmarks with oral health tips,
• dental hygiene habit trackers,
• two-minute timers,
• toothbrushes and toothpaste,
• and stickers.

Robin Vann, the National Programs Manager of America’s ToothFairy, was surprised by the number of non-dental organizations that request educational tools.

“We’ve received overwhelming responses from school nurses, librarians, and food banks, to name a few,” she said. “They see the rampant decay and how it affects the children they serve, but they often feel powerless to change the mindset and habits that lead to dental caries. These kits give them what they need to address these issues effectively.”

“The cape and mask helped our kindergarten students get excited about being oral health superheroes, and they really liked the activity booklets,” said Ashley Conder, a school nurse at Midland School District in Pleasant Plains, Arkansas. “The students were so excited about getting a new toothbrush, and it is so encouraging to be able to give them a tool to help improve their health.”

With financial support from Cranberry, the organization has developed a webpage where dental professionals can sign up to sponsor kits that will be distributed to organizations serving at-risk kids in their local communities. The education packages can reach up to 5,000 families, with sponsorship levels ranging from $2,500 to $20,000.

“We encourage dental offices to participate in oral health presentations along with the kits, but that isn’t always feasible,” Malmgren added. “That’s the best part about sponsoring these education kits–it puts the resources in the hands of people who are already serving and trusted by families who experience a higher rate of dental disease and helps connect them with the care they need to have healthy smiles.”

To partner with America’s ToothFairy and provide oral health education kits for families in your community, visit AmericasToothFairy.org/programs/smile-guardian-program.

About America’s ToothFairy: National Children’s Oral Health Foundation

As a resource provider, America’s ToothFairy increases access to oral health care by supporting nonprofit clinics and community partners delivering education, prevention, and treatment services for underserved children. Since 2006, America’s ToothFairy has reached 14.8 million children and caregivers with oral health services and distributed millions in donated products, educational materials, and financial grants to improve oral health outcomes for children and youth in need. For more information, visit AmericasToothFairy.org.