Oral Health
Children's Oral Health in Montana
PHSD newletters February 2010 At A Glance Children's Oral Health In Montana
February is National Children's Dental Health Month
Each February, the American Dental Association (ADA) sponsors National Children's Dental Health Month (NCDHM) to raise awareness about the importance of oral health. The ADA has compiled free online resources that can be used for presentations and activities. These and other oral health resources can be accessed at http://www.ada.org/prof/events/featured/ncdhm.asp.
ADA (January 19, 2010)
School Oral Health Screenings
Information and Forms
BSS Childrens Manual 2008
School Dental Screening Survey FINAL15Oct09
Oral Health School Screening Form FINAL15Oct09
Instructions for Oral Health Screening Form FINAL15Oct09
Parental Consent Letter FINAL15Oct09
Student Dental Report Card FINAL15Oct09
If you have trouble opening any of these documents please contact us at:
Oral Health Education - 1st Grade Materials
2nd Grade Materials
3rd Grade Materials
4th Grade Materials
5th Grade Materials
Now Available! Open Wide Oral Health Training
FREE oral health training for registered/licensed childcare providers.
To register for training: Open Wide Training Registration Form
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month (NCDHM).
The theme for this year’s campaign is “For a Sparkly Smile, Remember to Brush & Floss Everyday!” The American Dental Association produces posters for program coordinators to assist them in local health campaign efforts. These posters are available free of charge in multiple quantities.
Posters are available in English and Spanish this year. They can be used on billboards, in offices, classrooms, etc. The posters can be downloaded below or ordered at no cost. To download the posters in '8x10' inch size, please click the links below.
If you are interested in ordering the posters in '16x20' inch size, please click here to complete the order form 
.
English Version Posters
- Download Children's Poster | PDF file/2.5 MB
- Download Teen Poster | PDF file/2.5 MB
Spanish Version Posters
- Download Children’s Poster | PDF file/2.7 MB
- Download Teen Poster | PDF file/3.1 MB
Oral Health Resources:
Bright Smiles Montana - Healthy Smiles are Happy Smiles!
Montana Flouride Information & Resources--printable version
Montana's State Oral Health Plan
The dental health program promotes dental health activities designed to encourage good dental health practices and to help prevent dental cavities, gum disease and oral cancer. These activities focus on education to promote good dental health and risk reduction activities to reduce the occurrence of dental disease.
The promotion of dental sealants and monitoring of the fluoride content in drinking water in the state are examples of disease prevention activities. The promotion of school dental screening is an additional activity focused toward the child population.
The dental health program identifies dental health resources available for local health departments, daycares and Head Start programs and collaborates with the dental community, public/private schools, local health departments, tribes and others concerned with dental promotion activities.
DENTAL SCREENING
Dental screening is an appraisal activity just as hearing screening and vision screening are appraisal activities. An appraisal is NOT a diagnostic examination and in no way replaces a regular dental examination. Dental screening is a tool to identify emergent dental needs and, like all screening, has other benefits for the student participating in the event. It may help to build a positive attitude on the part of the student toward dental health, it may motivate some parents to schedule dental examinations for their child and the information from the dental screening may suggest areas of the health education program that could be enhanced.
Specific information on dental screening can be found in the brochure, GUIDELINES FOR DENTAL SCREENING. This brochure plus the three part dental screening forms are available free and sample copies are available upon request.
CONSULTATION
The dental health consultant works directly with local health departments, tribal agencies, schools, daycares, Head Start programs, Department bureaus and sections and private organizations in their development and implementation of dental health programs.
Technical assistance is provided regarding new procedures, services and resources for use in population-based dental health programs throughout the State.
