School kids to benefit from dental grant

 

BY JULIA WADE

Smiles of children at east Kaipara schools will be bit brighter soon thanks to a local dental clinic being awarded a grant to help impress on students the vital importance of clean gums and strong teeth. 

Mangawhai Dental have been granted US$1000 from The Wrigley Company Foundation (WCF) and New Zealand Dental Association (NZDA) to provide tooth brushes and oral health education to students at Mangawhai Beach School, and Maungaturoto and Kaiwaka Primary schools over the next couple of months. 

Specialist public health dentist Ellen Clark, who took over the Moir Street dental practice in February this year, says she is delighted to have received the award for their community project ‘Te Whai Toothbrushing’, which also has an environmentally friendly component. 

“Bamboo tooth brushes have been purchased and we will work with the schools to come up with some curriculum appropriate resources to improve oral health education,” says Clark, who is also clinical director for Northland District Health Board’s oral health service. “We are also hoping to include kindergartens and daycare centres in the area too.”

Although a company more aligned with chewing and bubble gum – the nemesis of healthy teeth – WCF along with NZDA have been helping dental professionals improve the oral health and education of many communities through their Community Service Grants programme for seven years.

Clarks says besides giving away free toothbrushes for every child, the Te Whai Toothbrushing initiative will be about liasing with schools and meeting with students for an interactive and fun presentation involving oral health knowledge, care and diet advice. A more scientific presentation explaining how fluoridation works and why sugar in the diet is detrimental to oral health will also be available for older children. 

Ms Clark says we need to ensure children have an understanding of the importance of oral health so they are able to support wider initiatives and policies developed to reduce dental disease. 

“The community has been very supportive of us and we have an extremely capable and caring team of local dental professionals who are enthusiastic about giving back,” the mother of three says. “The best way we can support the community is to improve oral health, by investing in our tamariki.”

From left, Mangawhai Dental oral health therapist Kimberley Denston, specialist public health dentist Ellen Clark, and dental assistants Kelly Jonas and Deidre Lennox, are all smiles at being awarded a grant to help them promote dental health to kids.