Smiley Kids instills good dental habits

Sophomore biology major Courtney LaHatte is smiling. Smiling because she’s helping instill good habits in local youth.

She has recently re-instated the Smiley Kids Club at Georgia College to raise dental hygiene awareness for children, elementary school age in particular.

The Smiley Kids Club was started approximately six years ago with pre-school age children, however, it dwindled and disappeared for a while. LaHatte is a biology major with a pre-dental concentration hoping to be an orthodontist one day. Her passion for dental hygiene led her to the Smiley Kids Club, which she gladly took under her wing. LaHatte has a passion for children and is also involved in Art Stop for Kids, Homework Helpers and various other children related service activities on campus and around the community.

“I started working with kids when I did Art Stop for Kids. I absolutely love working with them; they are so entertaining,” LaHatte said. “I think that affecting the youth in a positive way and making an impact is so important because they are our future.”

In addition to LaHatte, there are 16 other Georgia College students who are involved with the program. The club hopes to be up and running by early April. Their tentative plan is to travel around to local elementary schools and utilize fun learning tools such as instructive videos, coloring sheets, a mouth model and songs to instruct the children on proper tooth brushing, the importance of visiting the dentist and healthy eating to maintain strong, healthy teeth.

Targeting elementary school children is the main focus because statistics show that more than 51 million hours of school are missed by children each year due to dental related illnesses, according to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.

“I think that the Smiley Kids Club is a great opportunity to inform students about a crucial subject that is not being formally taught in schools and helping them to become all-around healthier people,” said sophomore early childhood education major Katie Breitenbach.

Of children ages two to 11, 42 percent have had tooth decay in their primary teeth. In addition, those living in families with lower incomes have more tooth decay, according to the NIDCR.

“I think it is so important for kids to not only brush their teeth, but also to learn to floss properly so they can learn the importance of being healthy early on,” said sophomore French major Chloe Carpenter.

In addition to the Smiley Kids Club members teaching children about oral hygiene, they also provide a positive influence and are a set of role models.With the help of the members of the Smiley Kids Club, children in Baldwin County can learn the skills necessary to keep themselves healthy, and ideally, will pass the information on to others.

Posted by Brooks McAlister on Mar 10 2011. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.