Dental Health Education (DHE) National Project

"Ready, Set, Brush!"

In honor of the American Dental Association's 150th Anniversary celebration, in 2010 the Alliance of the American Dental Association members distributed children's dental health education books, "Ready, Set, Brush!" to local school and public libraries. The publication of the "Ready, Set, Brush!" book is the result of a collaborative effort between the American Dental Association, Reader's Digest Children's Books and Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street. It was designed to teach parents and children good oral health habits to help kick-start a lifetime of good oral health.

The Elmo "pop-up" books bear a sticker that recognizes the ADA's 150 year anniversary and the AADA as the donor. In alphabetical order by states, here are some of the Alliance members' experiences and accomplishments.

Livermore, California, Schools are Recipients of the READY, SET, BRUSH! Books

One Alliance member and two American Dental Association member dentists along with the help of parents and a district school nurse distributed 40 "Ready, Set, Brush!" books to ten elementary schools reaching kindergarten and first grade children. The project was promoted in the community through Give Kids A Smile and Children's National Dental Health Month advertising through the school district. Alliance member Terry Alvarez, District 10 trustee, reports the feedback from the recipients and participants is "Gratitude, and the kids loved them!"

Illinois Preschools, Libraries, Mobile Clinics, and Grade School Libraries or Classrooms Receive READY, SET, BRUSH! Books and Instruction

Illinois Alliance members distributed and presented "Ready, Set, Brush!" books to nine diverse sites with various ages of children. There are many teachers, librarians, moms, grandmas and volunteers who are concerned about children's dental health. A dental health education program was given at each site for 5-50 children at a time and reaching some with this information for the first time! Alliance member Roxanne Kozal writes, "All sites and directors were very happy to give us time to present our material."

Kindergarten Children in Mississinewa Schools, Gas City/Jonesboro, IN

Dinah Catey, an active member of the Alliance of the Indiana Dental Association and the Wabsh Valley Dental Society component, teamed up with her husband Dr. Phil Catey and incorporated the use of the "Ready, Set,Brush" book into a February Dental Health Month program at the local Mississinewa Schools in Gas City/Jonesboro, IN. The book was used specifically for nine kindergarten classes that involved 157 kids, eleven teachers and one principal and was donated to the school library in Jonesboro.

Dinah Catey's granddaughter Mia Catey is assisting with brushing Marvin Martin's teeth as Dinah is reading the "Ready, Set, Brush!" book to her granddaughter's class.

Dinah reported the schools were very enthusiastic and appreciative. Schools are always eager for any help or support they receive from the community, especially during these low-economic times.

In Jefferson City, Missouri, Elementary Schools Receive the "Ready, Set, Brush!" Book

Alliance member Ann Hanson, the treasurer of the Alliance of the Central Dental Society, distributed 20 books to all of the public and private elementary school libraries in Jefferson City.

The Alliance and Elmo Join GKAS in Stark County, Ohio

Fifteen Alliance of the Stark County Dental Society members participated in the Give Kids A Smile (GKAS) day Ten "Ready, Set, Brush!" books were used by the alliance members to educate and entertain the children while they were waiting to be seen by the dentist. At the end of the day, the books were donated to ten public school libraries that were designated by the county to have large populations of children "in need". Alliance member Barbara Paulus wrote that this was the first year the Alliance was physically present at GKAS. They have been asked to return the next year in the same capacity as this year!

In Oklahoma, children were reached in public schools with an economically challenged population in one project and in rural areas in another project

Alliance member Mella Glenn was project manager for the Tulsa County Alliance project and distributed 18 "Ready, Set, Brush!" books to public schools where the population has a large population of lower income students. After Mella gave a short puppet presentation about brushing, she gave the children brushes, toothpaste, floss, and dental hygiene instructions in cute bags. Each school was given a book for the teachers to continue the education. All enjoyed the book and the schools appreciated receiving the book.

Dental education was taken to the rural areas in a cost efficient manner in the second project through the Oklahoma State Department of Health dental educators who distributed twelve "Ready, Set, Brush!" books. Some comments from the dental educators are:

• "I am the dental educator for Cleveland and McClain counties. I have mostly been in training since I started in February but I have used the Elmo book with a class of 38 Head Start children and they loved it. I plan to use it with Head Start, Pre K and my Kindergarten presentations."  Glenda Lee
• "I've seen 503 Head Start children in 16 classrooms. I use the Elmo book to close out the lesson. THEY LOVE IT. They count the teeth (10 on top, 10 on bottom), they remind me to brush the tongue, they love to see the pea size toothpaste on the brush. They ALWAYS want me to read it to them again. It has been a great tool!"  Sally A. Gunn
• "I have used it with 158 pre-school and kindergarten age students in public schools and daycare to supplement the dental health education curriculum that we presently use. I was able to use it as an instructional tool to explain in simple terms several different objectives of the oral health education program such as when we should brush, how we should brush, and how much toothpaste we should use. It also included a reminder about rinsing and the importance of regular dental visits. Thank you for providing us with a great resource that we can use to improve the oral health of the children of Oklahoma."  Renee Amason, M.ED., Dental Regional Technical Supervisor, Dental Health Service, OK State Department of Health

Scranton, Pennsylvania: The Scranton District Dental Society and the Alliance of the Scranton Dental Society Celebrate National Children's Dental Health Month

In February, 25 "Ready, Set, Brush!" books were donated to:

• Scranton Children's Library,
• Timmy Town Center Museum for Children (modeled after the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia, PA)
• Ronald McDonald House of Scranton
• two locally owned McDonald's Restaurants for Tooth Fairy Day
• the first baby born at Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton along with a sterling silver toothbrush
• various schools in the Scranton area

The tooth fairy visited the children and a bag of dental goodies were handed out to each of them. Alliance member Barb Wadsworth comments, "We have received many thank you letters from the children we visited."

Kids of the Southern Tier of Western New York

Kristi Peppy, AADA Dsitrict 1 trustee and member-at-large, was the recipient of 14 "Ready, Set, Brush!" books for school libraries through the AADA DHE National Project grant. Her program reached 14 schools in western New York including over 2,000 elementary age children. The program received publicity from the newspaper and television media.

Far left is Kristi Peppy, AADA Dsitrict 1 Trustee, who conducted "Ready, Set, Brush!" programs at 14 elementary schools in NY along with (l to r ) Dr. Caroline Salib holding the "Rock Your Smile" poster, ELMO (dental assistant Kelley M. Faulkner); and Dr. Anthony Peppy. They are at the Clinton V. Bush Elementary School in Jamestown, NY, with (far right) Tina Sandstrom, principal, and first grade children Allison Tilburg and Brayden Lane

In addition to Krisitie donating the books to the school libraries, ELMO greeted fans of all ages at the schools and passed out toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss and dental education coloring books that were donated by the Peppy Family Dentistry. Also, double-sided posters that were provided by the ADA 2010 National Children's Dental Health Month campaign were distributed to the fourteen schools for display on school bulletin boards. "It is so important at this age to get students learning about good oral habits and health," said Kristie, adding "I am so proud to be a part of such an effectual organization."

San Antonio, Texas, Public Libraries Receive "Ready, Set, Brush!" Books and ADA Posters

Alliance member Cindy Bates, trustee of AADA District 8, delivered 20 books to Vicki Ash, head of the downtown main public library's children department, who distributed the books to 20 of the 26 San Antonio public library branches. Cindy also delivered 25 American Dental Association dental health posters printed in English and another 25 printed in Spanish. Ms. Ash distributed the posters among the various San Antonio library branches. One day in February at one of the weekly preschool story hours at the downtown library, the Alliance of the San Antonio District Dental Society presented their "Bert, Ernie, and Tooth Monster Puppet Show" and gave pediatric toothbrushes to the attendees.