FAMILY, Inc. Marks Children’s Oral Health Month with Dental Awareness Activities

FAMILY, Inc. Marks Children’s Oral Health Month with Dental Awareness Activities

With the knowledge that an estimated 51 million school hours are lost each year due to dental-related illnesses and one in five U.S. children go without dental care, FAMILY, Inc. (familyia.org) is using National Children’s Dental Health Month in February as a platform for spreading awareness about the importance of dental care for children of all ages. Although the pandemic has forced postponement of FAMILY, Inc.’s annual Give Kids A Smile Day, they have scheduled the first mobile dental screenings in Mills County, IA on February 16, and their Southwest Iowa’s Children’s Health Coalition is planning to host their 4th Annual Oral Health Champions recognition event virtually in late February.

FAMILY Inc.’s Children’s Oral Health Coalition was launched in 2015 to focus on increasing awareness that all children should see a dentist by the age of 1. In the six years since then, they have witnessed a distinct increase in dental practices that are willing to do examinations on children under 3 years old, as well as an upswing in networking about the topic in community groups, and more dental referrals of newborns to 3-year-old children from medical professionals. In 2021, the virtual event will be during the last week in February. The organization also is producing an educational video to send out to schools to help teach children and parents how important dental health is to overall health and remind them that it is safe to visit their dentist and crucial to maintain oral hygiene routines.

FAMILY, Inc. provides public-health and family-support services to women, children, and families in Pottawattamie and Mills counties. For more information, visit familyia.org or call (712) 256-9566.