February is National Children’s Dental Health Month and first-grade students at Hodges Elementary, 5001 Avenue P, will receive free tooth decay prevention kits at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, February 15. The kits are assembled and provided by members of the local Masonic Lodges in partnership with the Masonic Home and School of Texas’ “Fantastic Teeth Fan Club” program.
The “Fantastic Teeth Fan Club” strives to prevent children from suffering toothaches, reduce the number of school days missed due to dental problems, and cut costs for dental treatment. The program is anticipated to serve nearly 6,000 first graders in 44 communities this year.
The tooth decay prevention kits contain: a toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, healthy teeth sticker, two-minute timer (optimal brushing time), Tips for Healthy Teeth educational info for parents in both Spanish and English and a fun chart to encourage daily brushing.
According to Oral Health In America: A Report of the Surgeon General, tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease-five times more common than asthma and seven times more common than hay fever. Socioeconomically disadvantaged children are affected by this epidemic more frequently than other children, with nearly 12 times more restricted-activity days due to dental issues than children from higher-income families.
Masonic Home and School of Texas is a non-profit organization with a history of helping children across Texas for more than 100 years.
(News release from Lubbock ISD)
