The Welcome Dental Tooth Fairy and Ms Susie Waldorf have been busy the past few months teaching Dental Health Education within the community. We have visited preschoolers and primary school aged children from Coffs Harbour through to Macksville. We would like to also thank Erskine Dental Supplies in Macksville for partnering with us in this community project.
Our aim is to improve the oral health and wellbeing of children in the mid north coast region by integrating the importance of healthy oral habits into their daily routine. Oral Health is universally regarded as fundamental to overall health, wellbeing, and quality of life. A healthy mouth enables children to eat and speak without pain, discomfort, or embarrassment. Therefore, by teaching children early in life the importance of oral hygiene, healthy food options and regular routine visits to the dentist we are providing lifetime skills to ensure lower decay rates and better overall health.
The incidence of tooth decay is still quite high, it is the most common chronic disease in childhood.
In 2010 55% of 6-year-olds had experienced tooth decay in their primary (baby) teeth.
In 2010 48% of 12-year-olds had experienced decay in their permanent teeth.
The high frequency and incidence displayed by these statistics amounts to a silent epidemic. Dental caries is the second most costly diet-related disease in Australia, with an economic impact comparable with that of heart disease and diabetes.
Despite significant improvements in the oral health of children in the last 20-30 years, there are persistent high levels of oral disease among Australian adults.
At Welcome Dental we believe that early intervention gives children the best outcome for their overall health and wellbeing. We are excited to see that by completing these school visits, children are going home and talking to their parents about choosing healthy lunchbox options, they are understanding the importance of brushing morning and night, 2 minutes at a time and they are looking forward to their next dental visit (in some cases their first).
You can write to the Welcome Dental Tooth Fairy by clicking here – Visit Tooth Fairy Page and if you want to book a oral health education visit, please call us on (02) 6655 5800.
Welcome Dental – your locally owned dental clinic in Urunga!
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