With our Wisdom Tooth Project® ramping up this year, our staff has been busy traveling to conferences and meetings across the country to spread the message of the importance of oral health care for older adults. Starting at the end of April, OHA attended the Special Care Dentistry Association Annual Meeting in New Orleans. At the OHA booth, staff members gave short presentations about the upcoming ToothWisdom website, attracting new participants to add content to the site’s Health Resources. The site’s Connecticut state page also encouraged attendees to form partnerships to create additional state pages.

Our President and CEO Beth Truett continued the conversation about older adults at the National Oral Health Conference in Huntsville, AL. Beth participated in a three-part panel with Dr. Lillian Mitchell and Mary Foley about three primary issues facing older adults when it comes to oral healthcare, with Beth’s part of the presentation focusing on the upcoming ToothWisdom website and how the site will build literacy among older adults and caregivers. Dr. Mitchell presented about the importance of education when it comes to older adults and oral health care and Ms. Foley talked about issues with payment systems, especially Medicaid. The response to the presentation was overwhelmingly positive, and just like at the Special Care Dentistry Annual Meeting, oral health leaders in several states were inspired to participate with the new ToothWisdom website.

This month OHA’s Melissa Hoebbel attended the Medicaid-CHIP Dental Association annual symposium in Washington, DC, learning about how the implementation of the Affordable Care Act will impact every state and state program. Sessions included information about dental benefits for both adults and children, quality of care, challenges in financing expanded coverage, and coordination with state exchanges.

Continue to check our website and monthly enewsletters to see how we continue to work to bring needed oral health care and education to older adults across the country.

The dental booth at the Hilltop Healthy Kids and Family Carnival in Washington.

Three organizations were awarded the Dr. Samuel D. Harris Fund for Children’s Dental Health Month Award earlier this year, with the grant awards funding different projects that aimed to educate children and families about the importance of oral health. The reports are in following the different events and programs organized by the grant winners and all three organizations fulfilled the purpose of the grant in very different ways.

In Tacoma, WA, Children’s International Health Relief hosted the Hilltop Healthy Kids and Family Carnival to celebrate National Children’s Dental Health Month, National Heart Health Month, and Black History Month. More than 300 people attended the carnival, where each booth focused on one of four health pillars–dental/medical health, nutrition, fitness, and emotional health. One of the booths that focused on dental health provided over 100 free oral screenings. Attendees also sampled healthy foods and were given fruits and vegetables to take home.

LIFT-Levantate in San Rafael, CA, promoted the importance of oral health through two events and a television program that was produced to air the same day as the events. The Healthy Smiles Family Wellness Festival was held in two different low-income communities and focused on teaching families about maintaining good oral health through good nutrition. More than 300 people attended both events in total. An estimated 1500 people watched the television program that focused on the same lessons, with the program scheduled to be rebroadcast throughout the year.

The Mississippi Oral Health Community Alliance in Jackson, MS, focused on reaching teens through a Twitter contest. Students ages 13-18 were encouraged to enter the Tweet a Health Smile contest, which required students to find a teacher as a sponsor who then needed to teach a lesson about oral health. The student then had to tweet a dental health message to complete the contest entry. Five winners were picked across the state, with the student and their sponsor receiving a $25 gift card and a healthy snacks party for their classroom. A dental hygienist also spoke to each winning classroom about how to keep a healthy smile.

Thank you to all three organizations for their hard work in educating children across the country about the importance of oral health!

We’re racing to healthy mouths with NASCAR and Give Kids a Smile. Wondering what NASCAR has to do with oral health? We’ll tell you.

Dr. Mitchell presented about the importance of education when it comes to older adults and oral health care and Ms. Foley talked about issues with payment systems, especially Medicaid. The response to the presentation was overwhelmingly positive, inspiring oral health leaders in several states to participate with the new ToothWisdom website. It is obvious that the needs of older adults when it comes to oral health need attention in this country and at OHA, we’re honored to be leading the discussion.

Stay up-to-date with the Wisdom Tooth Project® (WTP), OHA’s program dedicated to older adults, on the WTP webpage and by signing up for the Wisdom Tooth Project Insider.

We spent much of last year working on a WTP web portal to offer an easy, accessible way for older adults and their caregivers to obtain information and resources about oral health. That site launches this month, just in time to celebrate Older Americans Month. Our work isn’t done, though. You can help us continue to honor Older Americans Month by becoming a content expert for the WTP web portal, providing additional articles about older adults and oral health, or by making a gift in honor of the older adult in your life. In addition, any gift made to OHA through May 31 will be matched by the Henry Schein Cares Foundation. Contact allyson.supowitz@oralhealthamerica.org to find out more about becoming a content expert and click here or contact Brad McLaughlin to make a gift to OHA.

Above is a list of donors who gave a gift to Oral Health America between January 1, 2013 and May 14, 2013. If your name should have been included, please contact Brad McLaughlin, Development Director, at Brad.McLaughlin@oralhealthamerica.org or 312-836-9900.

Need something to make you smile? Check out our photos from a brush-a-thon hosted by the National Dental Association and supported by OHA last month at St. Elizabeth Elementary School in Chicago. These kids were so excited to learn how to take care of their teeth, and we’re excited to show you their smiling faces.

“As a mother, I know what it’s like to try to wrangle your kids into brushing their teeth. But through my involvement with the Kids’ Healthy Mouths campaign, I have also been reminded how important it is,” said Ali. “I am looking forward to spreading the message that brushing for two minutes twice a day is essential for good oral health and it can actually be fun and easy with the videos and tools available online.”

As part of the Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives coalition, OHA is excited to help the Ad Council welcome Ali to the campaign and recently participated in a Twitter Q and A with her about the importance of oral health for kids. Find out more about the campaign and learn ways to encourage your kids to take care of their teeth at www.2min2x.com.

OHA is teaming up with Give Kids a Smile (GKAS) to participate in two NASCAR events this spring. The first event took place in California, where OHA coordinated a dental education event at Troth Elementary School in Jurupa Valley featuring the members of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion race team and the No. 16 3M race car. More than 900 students learned about the importance of oral health and received oral care kits containing Trident gum, toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, and a Thomas and Friends Spinbrush from Arm & Hammer. OHA is also hosting a NASCAR school event in Kansas City April 20-21, reaching another 900 students with the 3M Ford Fusion race team. Thanks to GKAS for this great opportunity to teach kids about the importance of a healthy smile!

Join Oral Health America’s FREE campaign, Fall for Smiles, and gain access to tools that promote healthy mouths for healthy lives.

To get started, signup for an interactive webinar on August 21, 2013 @ 12:00pm CST.

Visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/593573632 to register.

Fall for Smiles is an annual Oral Health America (OHA) campaign in September and October promoting messages to consumers about the importance of self-care, good nutrition, regular dental visits, and tobacco avoidance in maintaining oral health. Fall for Smiles serves as an exciting opportunity for dental professionals to work collaboratively in inspiring Americans to make sure that good dental care is an established part of daily routine for all ages.  The Fall for Smiles interactive 45 minute webinar will inform dental professionals on how to use campaign collateral in their practice and within their community. Thank you for joining OHA as we bring healthy mouths to life!