By Mikayla van Loon
The next generation of preschoolers has learnt about the importance of keeping their teeth healthy through activities, games and making habits fun.
Mount Evelyn’s Fernhill Preschool was the latest kindergarten to earn its Smiles 4 Miles award after completing the oral health promotion program, designed by Dental Health Services Victoria and run by Inspiro.
Educators, families and the children at Fernhill Preschool all worked together to create an environment that promotes healthy eating, drinking water and looking after children’s teeth.
Children engaged with fun learning activities to encourage them to form good oral health habits early, while families were provided with information and resources to support them at home in creating healthy lunchboxes and brushing their child’s teeth morning and night.
Inspiro health promotion officer Kristen Gurney said setting preschool aged children up early with dental hygiene habits was vital for long term oral health.
“Baby teeth are really important because they are needed for eating a wide variety of foods, are critical for speech development, hold space for the permanent teeth and help to guide them into position,” she said.
“Every child is at risk of tooth decay. However, drinking water, eating healthy foods and regular tooth brushing can remove the plaque and prevent decay from occurring.”
With baby teeth often remaining for up to 12 years, Kristen said it was important to keep them healthy as a good foundation for adult teeth.
Inspiro’s dental service also attended Fernhill Preschool to provide dental screenings for children, so any problems could be picked up early.
Kristen said even as adults, early detection was best practice to avoid excessive costs relating to dental care.
“Many people don’t think too seriously about their dental health until a problem arises. That’s when it can get very expensive,” she said.
“But many dental issues can be reversed if addressed early, meaning the expensive treatments can be avoided or reduced with regular check ups.”
By running Smiles 4 Miles in 30 preschools and long day care centres across the Yarra Ranges, Kristen said the aim was to get the message out there about the importance of dental care.
“We find that many parents simply aren’t aware of the importance of looking after their child’s teeth and may believe that as their baby teeth fall out, they don’t need to worry too much about them.
“Cost can be another barrier to accessing dental checks and so it is important that parents are aware that all children can access free or low cost dental care via their local public dental service – like the one we have at Inspiro.”
Kristen said the recommended age for a child’s first dental check is two-years-old, which can be done by a dentist, maternal and child health nurse or doctor.
The Inspiro dental team also travels to early childhood services across the Yarra Ranges providing dental check ups to young children.
The next free dental screening clinic for children is at Woori Community House on Tuesday 9 July.
Families can contact Woori Community House to book on 5964 6857 or by logging on to www.wooricommhouse.org/ourcourses
