Child Care Health Program
Promoting oral health
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February is
Oral Health Month
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Ask parents about each child's oral health:
- What was the date of the child's last dental checkup?
(Children should have a dental exam around age 1.)
- Ask for the name and phone number of the child's dental provider for your records. This is important emergency information.
- If parents need help finding dental care, refer them to KidCare - Community Health Access Programs (CHAP) at (206) 284-0331 or (800) 756-5437.
Promote healthy nutrition:
Healthy eating behaviors:
- No bottles of juice or soft drinks in beds/naps (water only) and no continuous snacking.
- This decreases the time teeth are exposed to sugar and carbohydrates.
- Drink fluoridated water.
- Provide nutritious meals and snacks, e.g. cheese, vegetables and fruits.
- Limit juice to less than 4 ounces a day for children under 5.
- If sugary foods are served, provide them with meals rather than between meals.
Understand the benefits of fluoride:
Flouride protects teeth. Encourage and promote the use of fluoride:
- Drink fluoridated water.
- Use only a pea-size amount of fluoride toothpaste when brushing teeth.
Promote toothbrushing:
Daily toothbrushing, depending upon length of time in childcare.
- Use pea-size amount of toothpaste.
Develop safety policies to prevent injuries:
Post dental emergency procedures in your child care:
- If a child's permanent tooth is knocked out, put tooth in milk or water and take with child to dentist within 2 hours.
- For primary teeth, have the child seen by a dentist, but it is not necessary to do this within 2 hours.
Dental resources:
Know the low cost dental resources in your community (click here to download the Dental Resources handout formatted in Adobe PDF.)
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food finds
 Brush your teeth!
Find a dentist in King County and improve your oral health.
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 Recipe of the Week
A new healthy and easy to make recipe published every week on Public Health's website!
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