Florida Daycare Adds Oral Hygiene to Its Curriculum
The Florida Department of Health in Martin County has partnered with the Gertrude Walden Childcare Center in Stuart, Florida, to determine the effectiveness of having children brush their teeth while at the daycare center in preventing dental caries.
The Florida Department of Health in Martin County has partnered with the Gertrude Walden Childcare Center in Stuart, Florida, to determine the effectiveness of having children brush their teeth while at the daycare center in preventing dental caries. According to the TC Palm, the program is served by the Department of Health’s two dental hygienists: Milly Ruiz, RDH, and Michelle Schwartz, RDH, who provide oral hygiene instruction on toothbrushing, in addition to oral health education. They also apply fluoride varnish and dental sealants.
This program is part of a larger school-based dental sealant program implemented to reduce the number of children who begin school with significant oral health problems. Funded partially by the Children’s Services Council of Martin County, the services offered are free to all children in Martin County public schools. The Department of Health staff will evaluate results of the toothbrushing program to see if it should be replicated in other daycare centers throughout the county.
From Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. February 2018;16(2):14-15.
