February is Children's Oral Health Month

Roanoke, VA (Feb. 4, 2016) – It’s Children’s Dental Health Month in America, so let’s start with the good news: according to their parents, the majority of kids in the country are brushing their teeth at least twice a day and flossing. A new survey of parents by Delta Dental Plans Association finds that regular flossing (43%) and brushing (28%) are some of the toughest tasks to get kids to do among common activities such as eating vegetables (40%), helping out with chores (50%) and doing homework (25%).

“While many of Virginia’s children are on the right track to good oral health and overall health, clearly there is still work to be done when it comes to helping parents understand the importance of getting an early start on dental care. Neglected baby teeth can lead to bigger oral health problems down the road,” said George A. Levicki, DDS, president & CEO, Delta Dental of Virginia.. “A healthy mouth at a young age can improve overall health for children and sets the stage for a lifetime of healthy smiles.”

To help make a difference in Virginia, the Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation started Smart Smiles in Schools, an educator-friendly, activity-oriented program that is available free of charge to schools throughout the state. Since 2003, this and similar programs offered by the Foundation have served over 187,000 K-5 students. Last year alone, 66 districts were served with 242 Smart Smiles kits.

The kits are loaned out for two weeks free of charge and include DVD and experiential lessons with Virginia Standards of Learning for each lesson, interactive learning opportunities with a giant tooth model and toothbrush, and student activity sheets.

About Delta Dental of Virginia
Delta Dental of Virginia was created in 1964 as a not-for-profit service corporation. Delta Dental provides employee dental benefits through a variety of managed fee-for-service and PPO plans. Delta Dental of Virginia is a member company of the Delta Dental Plans Association, the nation’s leading dental benefits provider, with enrollment of 68 million Americans, including over 120,000 groups. For additional information about Delta Dental of Virginia, visit www.deltadentalva.com. For more oral health information, subscribe to our blog and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

About the Survey: The Children’s Oral Health Survey conducted by Kelton Global between December 16th, 2015 and January 14th, 2016 among 1,607 parents of children ages 12 or under. The margin of error is +/-2.4 percent. All data in this release are self-reported by the parents.

###