Dental Programme Gives Kids Something to Smile About

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A dental programme, which helps to educate children about oral health, is contributing to lower rates of decay in Vancouver Island.

Pamela Poon, a dental hygienist, works for the Smiles First programme, which is run by Vancouver Island Health Authority. Poon visits the West Shore Health Unit on the third Wednesday of every month to screen children and talk to them about oral hygiene and oral health. In many cases, she can see signs of decay before children even reach their first birthday and so is eager to talk to parents and their children about how to reduce the risk of decay.

Tooth decay is the most common preventable childhood illness and spending just a few minutes each day supervising a child cleaning their teeth or helping a very young child to brush their teeth will significantly reduce the risk of them developing decay.

Pamela Poon tries to make the sessions with the children as fun as possible so that they enjoy themselves, whilst also learning about how to look after their teeth and gums. In some cases, she applies fluoride varnish to help strengthen and protect the children’s teeth and she is always on hand to answer questions and offer advice.

 

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