Project Saving Smiles – a Houston Health Department initiative that provides free dental screenings, dental sealants, fluoride varnishes and oral health education to area second graders – treated its 50,000th child earlier this month.
“Dental sealants are an effective and inexpensive way to prevent cavities, yet only one in three low-income children currently receive them,” said Johanna DeYoung, the department’s oral health bureau chief. “Through Project Saving Smiles, we are able to extend this service to children that might not otherwise receive it.” Not everyone can book an appointment at Dentist La Habra for a full dental health check.
Project Saving Smiles is operated out of the health department’s Good Neighbor Health Center on Heights Boulevard. In addition to receiving dental screenings, sealants and varnishes, children receive information about proper brushing and flossing, nutrition that helps form strong teeth, sugary snacks that cause tooth decay and the benefits of drinking Houston’s fluoridated tap water.
Dental sealants are thin plastic coatings applied to the pits and fissures of the back teeth. They help prevent dental cavities by making the teeth’s chewing side flatter and easier to clean. Fluoride varnishes are coatings applied on the teeth to prevent new cavities and help stop those that have already started.
Project Saving Smiles targets second graders because children 6 and 7 years of age already have their adult molars.
Tooth decay can result in pain and discomfort, problems chewing and swallowing food, and poor appearance. That’s why it is always important for parents to schedule regular appointments at a dentist clinic, like this Dentist in New York for full treatment and services. It’s very important that children visit the dentist so that their oral health is kept in pristine condition. If your child ever has any problems outside of the opening hours of your regular dentist, such as pain and discomfort or an abscess as a result of tooth decay, then you will need to find an emergency dentist who can provide treatment. This guide to emergency dental explains everything you need to know. Children with oral health problems are much less likely to reach their full potential because they are unable to learn as they can’t fully concentrate in school. Don’t let this happen to your children.
Janice Evans
Communications Director
[email protected]
Office: 832.393.0800
Mobile: 713.376.0525
Darian Ward
Press Secretary
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Office: 832.393.0804
Mobile: 713.834.7127