Dear Merv

Thanks for taking the time to hear about this project.  We would be delighted if you could pass it on to the Dental Hygienists and Therapists Association and/or provide support via the National Dental Foundation.  We would be delighted to speak to you further about this project - in the meantime, I hope this overview gives you an idea of what it is we are trying to achieve and the help required from dental professionals to make it work.

Objectives

The Food for Smiling strategy aims to raise awareness and build parents knowledge of how to reduce the risk of dental problems in their children and also to improve the oral health of preschool aged children in the community. Increased awareness of good dental health and nutrition is intended to change practice i.e. limiting sweet foods intake, increasing care of teeth - brushing, Increase intake of tap water.

It is also intended that parents will be more capable of noticing early signs of tooth damage and be aware of where to get local affordable dental assistance.

Background

Oral disease is the most common preventable disease in childhood with 42 per cent of children entering primary school with experience of dental decay, 75 per cent of which is untreated (Dental Health Services Victoria, 2003).

This problem is particularly acute in children from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Recent data reveals that children in the lowest socio-economic quartile experience almost twice as many caries as those children in the highest socio-economic quartile (Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council, 2001)

Locally in Brimbank and other parts of the Western suburbs we are Kindergarten and primary teacher have high numbers of children with rotten teeth and families with the misconception that care of the first teeth “is not that important”

The solution

Food 4 Smiling is a Dental Health Promotion strategy which aims to build parents’ knowledge of how to reduce the risk of dental problems in their children.   

A volunteer dental professional (Dental Therapist, Dental Hygienist) provides a 90 min presentation to parents of preschoolers from low socio economic backgrounds, about dental care for the early years. A Session Plan including visual aids (photos, overheads, model teeth, large brushes and puppets) is available for anyone providing the sessions. 

Parents are provided with information to take away about nutrition and sample toothbrushes and tooth paste, sipper cups, and a simple reminder booklet provided by Colgate. Dental Health brochures are provided as well which include details of how to access the local public dental health clinics

This project will target children in families who are from disadvantaged backgrounds.

They may be children in refugee or migrant families from Sudan, Vietnam or the Middle east, where the parents have limited or no English and are not familiar with our public dental system nor dental care practices (for many families sweet foods were not available in the country of origin so dental hygiene was not as big an issue as it is for families when they arrive here and junk food is so accessible)

They may be from families with low literacy levels who are not reached by the written information provided in health centres

They may be from families where the parent is struggling to manage their life and is just not aware of the dental help available.

Brimbank is one of the most disadvantaged areas in Victoria and we will be working with Kindergartens and Childcare centres and prioritising those where the teachers have identified this as a concern.

Evidence

The Food for Smiling project was developed in NSW through a partnership between The Smith Family, NSW Health and Colgate.  The project has been evaluated in NSW (Fairfield).  There are three tools, pre-session questionnaire, post-session questionnaire - to be completed immediately after the session and a post-session questionnaire - to be completed 2-3 months after the F4S session.  

Our evidence indicates that to affect Changed behaviour we need to connect directly with the parents and that the most effective delivery model is direct from a Dental professional.  The results in Fairfield have indicated a change in practice amongst families who participated in the sessions. The combination of face to face information, and ability to have questions answered by a trained professional in dental health and the take home materials have  been the critical success factors in the project.

Locally the material and the process being used has been endorsed by Dental health Victoria and The Community Dental health service (ISIS Primary Care).

Help We Need

We are seeking willing Dental health professionals who would be able to volunteer their time to deliver health education sessions to the target families using the Food for Smiling materials.  TSF would arrange the venue and logistics they would just need to show up on the day and provide the session.  We have enough resources to provide information to up to 500 families over the next 12 months in Brimbank and other Western Suburbs areas that we have connections with however it relies on being able to attract the support from Dental Professionals to this partnership.

Who is contributing?

• The Smith Family – providing the on the ground logistics and liaison with early years services.  Providing session plans and equipment.

• Early Years Services – (playgroups, Kindergartens and Childcare centres) – providing venues and promotion to the parents

• Colgate – providing collateral of brochures, toothpaste, tooth brushes, cups and carry bag.  Providing visual aids to be utilised in the sessions. In addition Colgate have provided the funds for the development of the project in partnership with NSW Health and The Smith Family

• Dental Health Service Australia

About The Smith Family

The Smith Family is an independent non-profit organisation committed to helping disadvantaged Australian children by unlocking opportunities through education and learning.

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