Teaching young children good dental hygiene

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Meet Rex, and helium has a captious job: teaching kids astir the value of having steadfast teeth.

"Rex is our dental plush model," said Jodeci Felix, the Project Director and Health Educator for the Local Oral Health Program with Fresno Public Health Department. "He's truly fashionable with the kids. Whenever we supply oral wellness education, we truly show, with Rex, however to brushwood their teeth."

Rex is portion of the Local Oral Health Program. He and the squad spell retired and amusement kids however to decently brushwood their teeth. Felix says not lone bash they make an engaging acquisition for the kids, but they besides present families to the 2-2-2 Rule.

"So 2-2-2 means brushing your teeth doubly a day, for 2 minutes, and visiting the dentist doubly a year," said Felix.

Under California authorities law, children enrolled successful TK, kindergarten, oregon archetypal people are required to implicit an oral wellness screening. Health experts accidental dental decay is 1 of the astir communal reasons wherefore kids miss school.

"Whenever kids person bony decay oregon cavities, it makes it hard for them to learn, talk and prosecute with different students," said Felix.

A statewide survey recovered adjacent to 76% of 3rd graders successful the Central Valley had the highest occurrence of bony decay, with astir 30% having untreated bony problems.

Felix says accessibility is simply a crushed wherefore the numbers are truthful high.

"Right now, according to our 2023 Health Needs Assessment, we person a shortage of Medi-Cal dental providers," said Felix. "More than 40% of our colonisation is nether Medi-Cal, which tin make longer hold times."

Felix adds that proscription is besides a obstruction due to the fact that galore families unrecorded successful agrarian communities.

That's wherefore Fresno County wellness leaders enactment with the assemblage to bring preventative services.

"We're capable to surface children, to cheque for cavities," said Felix. "They person oral wellness acquisition from a dental hygienist."

So that children tin person agleam smiles conscionable similar Rex, due to the fact that our wide wellness starts with our oral health.

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