At Patterson Dental, we place a high priority on children’s oral healthcare and partner with a number of organizations dedicated to advancing children’s dental health. In honor of the American Dental Association’s (ADA) National Children’s Dental Health Month in February, we invite you to learn more about this event and other organizations that work hard all year to ensure that every child, no matter his or her socioeconomic status, grows up with a healthy, beautiful smile.

> In the U.S., oral disease causes kids to miss 51 million school hours and their parents to lose 25 million work hours annually.₁

> Oral disease disproportionately affects children from low-income families and these children have almost twice the number of decayed teeth that have not been treated by a dentist as compared to others in the general population.₁

> Left untreated, the pain and infection caused by tooth decay can result in problems with eating, speaking and learning, and early tooth loss can result in reduced self-esteem and failure to thrive.₂

> Children and adolescents with oral health problems are more likely to have problems at school and less likely to do all homework, compared to those without oral health problems. They are also more likely to feel worthless and inferior, shy, unhappy, sad or depressed.₂

> When children’s acute oral health problems are treated and they are not experiencing pain, their learning and school attendance records improve.₂

Every year in February, the ADA encourages dental professionals across the U.S. to turn their attention to helping children develop a lifetime of good dental habits. The ADA produces a series of educational materials around a common theme — this year, the theme is “Join the Super Smile Team!” — and provide the resources to dental teams, teachers and schools, and parents and guardians. The adults use resources like activity sheets, story books and videos to engage kids in learning about taking care of their teeth.
Check out the ADA’s available resources at ada.org.

1: www.healthymouthshealthylives.org. 2: www.mchoralhealth.org/PDFs/learningfactsheet.pdf.