This document discusses strategies for involving parents in oral health education for children. It recommends having children's first dentist visit within 6-12 months and provides tips for easing children's fears. Community programs that provide fluoride and dental sealants are described. The document also presents several parent activities, including a "Brush-In" where children demonstrate brushing skills, a family tooth brushing chart, and creating morning/bedtime checklists. Parents are asked to discuss additional parent activities in a message board thread.

1. Filling the Gap
Oral Health and Kansas Kids
Lesson Three
Involving Parents

2. Lessen Overview
 First Visit to the Dentist
 Community Oral Health Programs
 Parent Activities

3. First Visit to the Dentist
 Encourage parents to have their child’s first
visit to a dentist within six months of the first
tooth and no later than 12 months of age.
 The first visit to the dentist serves several
purposes.
– It establishes a routine
– Provides an opportunity for the dentist to check
the oral health of the children and ensure they are
being weaned from the bottle

4. Easing Children’s Fears
 Children can be frightened by visiting the dentist.
Here are several strategies for easing their fears:
– Invite a dental health care professional to come into your
child care setting
– Provide dress-up clothes and props from a dentist office in
dramatic play
– Use puppets to talk to the children about the dentist and
opening their mouth to brush their teeth
– Read stories to children about visits to the dentist

5. Ice-Breaker
 Answer the following questions in the Lesson
3 Ice-Breaker thread.
– Do any of you have any fears or anxieties
regarding going to the dentist?
– Why do you think you have those fears?

6. Community Oral Health Programs
 Communities take a leading role in improving
the oral health of Kansas children.
 One way to learn more about your
community oral health programs is to contact
your local health department or dental
professionals.

7. Community Oral Health Programs
 Fluoride
 The single most effective way to prevent tooth decay
 The most critical time for young children to get fluoride to make
teeth strong and to prevent decay is 6 months to 2 years of
age
 The following are several ways young children get the fluoride
they need:
– Drinking water that is fluoridated
– Fluoridated toothpaste in appropriate amounts
– Topical fluoride and varnish treatments in the form of gels or
foams can be applied to the child’s teeth after cleaning
– Fluoride supplements prescribed by the dentist

8. Community Oral Health Programs
 Sealants
– Plastic coatings painted on the chewing surfaces
of the permanent teeth beginning with the 6-year
molars
– Are painless
– Can be easily applied in one visit to the dentist
– Can last for 5 to 10 years

9. Community Oral Health Programs
 Call your local Health Department or a dental
professional and discuss what is offered in
your community regarding oral health
programs.

10. Parent Activities
 Parent activities are designed to:
– Integrate parents into what their child is learning
– Teach parents about best practices
– Allow parents the opportunity to participate

11. Parent Activities
 Parents view the sharing of activities by their
provider as an affirmation that providers:
– Care about their child
– Want to share information about the child with the
parent
– Are knowledgeable about child care

12. Involving Parents
 The following slides contain different
activities or ideas for you to involve parents
in oral health.
 At the end, you will be directed to respond to
a thread in the message board.

13. Host a ‘Brush In’
 The purpose of this activity is to allow the
children to demonstrate some of the skillsl
they have learned and to share with parents
activities they can do at home.
– Have the children demonstrate the proper
brushing techniques.
– Offer healthy snacks and provide information on
the importance of serving healthy snacks.

14. Family Tooth Brushing & Flossing
 Develop a weekly tooth brushing and flossing
chart to include all of the family members.
Send the chart home with the family and ask
them to document when each of them
brushes or flosses.
– To make it ‘kid friendly’, put in icons of a sun and
moon.

15. Morning & Bedtime Routine Checklist
 Provide parents with the materials to create
morning and bedtime routine checklists.
 Some materials to provide would include:
– Construction paper
– Crayons
– Scissors
– Tape
– Yarn

16. Parent Activities Thread
 One of the parent activities discussed is the
‘Brush-In’. What other activities could you
include for parents?
 Discuss two other parent activities that you
have done in the past or could do for your
families.