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Cedar Hill students get fun lesson on dental health
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By Angie Hutschreider
News Tribune
The Tooth Wizard and “icky, sticky, slimy and grimy” PlaqueMan invaded Cedar Hill Elementary School last week.
The characters were on a mission with Delta Dental to get the kindergarten through second graders in attendance excited about dental health.
The sounds of laughter and fun erupted from the gym as the Tooth Wizard and PlaqueMan made their way in.
“This is going to be good,” one young boy whispered to his classmate.
“If we can get the kids to understand why it is so important to have good dental habits and health and get them excited about it all at once, we think it will follow them for life,” said Jeff Koziatek, The Tooth Wizard.
The Teeth on the Go program began about seven years ago and, in 2007, about 320 Missouri schools - roughly 70,000 kids - were visited by the program.
This year, the program has been presented at 300 schools, reaching nearly 65,000 children.
Katie Chatfield, communications coordinator for Delta Dental of Missouri, said the program originated after the need for dental education was established.
“By just going to the schools that were readily identified as in need, we found that there is a need for educating children, especially in dental health, in kindergarten through third grade,” Chatfield said.
Through the program, the Tooth Wizard shows the children the proper way to brush, floss and rinse their mouths. The children became most excited when PlaqueMan dashed onto the stage and left behind this “icky, sticky, slimy and grimy stuff called plaque.”
“Now what will we do about that?” the Tooth Wizard would ask with an arched eyebrow while looking at the children.
“Brush your teeth,” the students answered in unison.
“The most important part is that we are teaching them at a very early age to hopefully help prevent problems down the road,” Chatfield said.
After the Tooth Wizard and PlaqueMan packed up their belongings and left the school, the learning about good dental habits didn't not stop.
A new program - Land of Smiles - is a five-chapter DVD that will go into more details about oral health. It is also aimed at children kindergarten through third grade.
“What makes the Land of Smiles different is that we did research on the state requirements on education that school nurses do and we have made it so Land of Smiles will help a lot of nurses with their education requirements,” Chatfield said.
No matter how the children get it, Chatfield and Koziatek said that education now means healthy smiles later in life.
Chatfield said: “The programs teach him the importance of a healthy lifestyle and how being healthy and healthy smiles go hand in hand.”
The characters were on a mission with Delta Dental to get the kindergarten through second graders in attendance excited about dental health.
The sounds of laughter and fun erupted from the gym as the Tooth Wizard and PlaqueMan made their way in.
“This is going to be good,” one young boy whispered to his classmate.
“If we can get the kids to understand why it is so important to have good dental habits and health and get them excited about it all at once, we think it will follow them for life,” said Jeff Koziatek, The Tooth Wizard.
The Teeth on the Go program began about seven years ago and, in 2007, about 320 Missouri schools - roughly 70,000 kids - were visited by the program.
This year, the program has been presented at 300 schools, reaching nearly 65,000 children.
Katie Chatfield, communications coordinator for Delta Dental of Missouri, said the program originated after the need for dental education was established.
“By just going to the schools that were readily identified as in need, we found that there is a need for educating children, especially in dental health, in kindergarten through third grade,” Chatfield said.
Through the program, the Tooth Wizard shows the children the proper way to brush, floss and rinse their mouths. The children became most excited when PlaqueMan dashed onto the stage and left behind this “icky, sticky, slimy and grimy stuff called plaque.”
“Now what will we do about that?” the Tooth Wizard would ask with an arched eyebrow while looking at the children.
“Brush your teeth,” the students answered in unison.
“The most important part is that we are teaching them at a very early age to hopefully help prevent problems down the road,” Chatfield said.
After the Tooth Wizard and PlaqueMan packed up their belongings and left the school, the learning about good dental habits didn't not stop.
A new program - Land of Smiles - is a five-chapter DVD that will go into more details about oral health. It is also aimed at children kindergarten through third grade.
“What makes the Land of Smiles different is that we did research on the state requirements on education that school nurses do and we have made it so Land of Smiles will help a lot of nurses with their education requirements,” Chatfield said.
No matter how the children get it, Chatfield and Koziatek said that education now means healthy smiles later in life.
Chatfield said: “The programs teach him the importance of a healthy lifestyle and how being healthy and healthy smiles go hand in hand.”
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