Your job is to make sure children get a good head start in life. Our job is to help! Brushing with fluoride toothpaste is an evidence-based best practice to prevent early childhood tooth decay, and is recommended in the child care setting by Caring for Our Children National Health and Safety Performance Standards-Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs.
Need to brush up on your child care toothbrushing skills? Brushing Is Fun, Start By Age 1 training course is back! (Of course, with all COVID-safe precautions, per the State of NC and CDC guidelines.) The free, DCDEE-approved, in-person or virtual training delivers 1 Contact Hour Credit (1 CHC), and excellent information on how to take care of little teeth.
Designed for child care program administrators, caregivers, educators, and staff, this interactive, on-site training is facilitated by a trained oral health expert. It features a step-by-step guide for both infant/toddler and preschool classrooms on:
- preparing to brush,
- brushing, and
- cleaning up after brushing.
Full of helpful videos, entertaining games, and dynamic group exercises and discussion, the course includes the correct amount of safe and healthy fluoride toothpaste (by children’s age), tips on positioning, and how to make brushing fun.
“Child care providers are influential and important in the lives of families,” says Emily Horney, Early Childhood Oral Health Coordinator for the Oral Health Section, North Carolina Division of Public Health. “Early childhood education programs are in a unique position to provide the nurturing environment required to reinforce positive oral health behaviors both in the classroom and in the home. Brushing is Fun, Start by Age 1 combines oral health best practices, NC sanitation guidelines and other helpful tips to ensure successful implementation of a classroom toothbrushing program. The hybrid course also highlights several considerations to align your program with current COVID-19 guidance. Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to help children and their families lay the foundation for a lifetime of healthy smiles!”
For more information, see the flier. To schedule this enjoyable and informative, for-credit training opportunity, please contact:
Emily Horney, RDH, by calling (828) 406-4097 or emailing Emily.Horney@dhhs.nc.gov.
Want to learn more? Click to see the two Guidelines-based classroom toothbrushing posters. Available in both English and Spanish, these colorful posters–one for Infants/Toddlers and one for Preschool– feature powerful photos and clear directions for effective child care toothbrushing.
