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National Children’s Dental Health Month
National Children’s Dental Health Month A ebruary 1983 marks the 35th observance of National Children’s Dental Health Month sponsored by the American Dental Associa tion. Programs are being im plem ented throughout the community in schools, li braries, hospitals, pharmacies, businesses, and restaurants by constituent and compo nent societies. These programs have been developed to emphasize the importance of dental care throughout a lifetime. The theme for the 1983 campaign was chosen to convey this philosophy, “Smile, America, Healthy Smiles Last a Lifetime.” Many of the programs and activities are planned for children, but several constituent and component societies have chosen to ex pand their programs to include the elderly, handicapped, and low-income families, in addition to providing information to other health professionals. Programs range from dental screenings and oral hygiene instruc tions for nursing home residents to provid ing nurses with the necessary information so that they may encourage their patients to use thorough oral hygiene practices. Materials designed for the February ac tivities include a program planning kit, posters, bookmarks, buttons, and television and radio public service announcements. A ll of these components stress the 1983 theme. The ADA’s Bureau of Health Educa
tion and Audiovisual Services has distrib uted nearly 1 m illio n posters, 270,000 bookmarks, 100,000 buttons, and 7,100 pro gram planning kits to state and local pro gram chairmen. This year Jaclyn Smith agreed to assist the ADA in promoting the 1983 program by tap ing the television and radio public service announcements. As the daughter of a dentist and as a first-time mother, Ms. Smith stresses the importance of dental health care includ ing, “ . . . eating the right foods, daily brush ing and flossing, using fluorides, and regular dental checkups.” More than 600 television spots, and 1,500 radio spots have been dis tributed to stations nationwide, including all of the major networks. A limited number of these promotional materials are still available. For information on ordering the items, please contact the ADA’s Bureau of Health Education and A u diovisual Services. Program planners are encouraged to send the Bureau reports of their local programs and black and white photographs of local ac tivities. This feedback is used to prepare the final report on dental health month ac tivities, which is published in a summer issue of The Journal and also to assist in the development of materials and programs for subsequent celebrations. JADA, Vol. 106, February 1983 ■ 171
tion and Audiovisual Services has distrib uted nearly 1 m illio n posters, 270,000 bookmarks, 100,000 buttons, and 7,100 pro gram planning kits to state and local pro gram chairmen. This year Jaclyn Smith agreed to assist the ADA in promoting the 1983 program by tap ing the television and radio public service announcements. As the daughter of a dentist and as a first-time mother, Ms. Smith stresses the importance of dental health care includ ing, “ . . . eating the right foods, daily brush ing and flossing, using fluorides, and regular dental checkups.” More than 600 television spots, and 1,500 radio spots have been dis tributed to stations nationwide, including all of the major networks. A limited number of these promotional materials are still available. For information on ordering the items, please contact the ADA’s Bureau of Health Education and A u diovisual Services. Program planners are encouraged to send the Bureau reports of their local programs and black and white photographs of local ac tivities. This feedback is used to prepare the final report on dental health month ac tivities, which is published in a summer issue of The Journal and also to assist in the development of materials and programs for subsequent celebrations. JADA, Vol. 106, February 1983 ■ 171