Kansas Cavity Free Kids

Helping children enter Kindergarten cavity free...and ready to learn!

Tooth decay is the most widespread chronic disease that affects children and the most common unmet health-care need.  Untreated oral disease can have a lasting impact on overall health, social and emotional development, and a young child’s ability to succeed in school. Kansas Cavity Free Kids is committed to improving the oral health of pregnant women and young children through improved access to care, advocacy, and education for all.

 
 
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Keeping kids cavity free is everybody's business

Whether you are a teacher, cook, bus driver, caregiver, health professional, or friend, there are things you can do to help children get or stay healthy. Download this Tip Sheet (PDF) for some great ideas to get you started including:

  • Be aware of changes

  • Help children receive professional dental services

  • Encourage health foods and eating habits

  • Encourage parents to help their children brush

Professional Development resources on oral health

Experts tell us you can’t be healthy unless you have good oral health. The more we know about dental disease, the easier it is to make changes that keep our mouths healthy. The Kansas Head Start Association has created comprehensive oral health resource guides that are fun, simple, and effective. Let us infect you with our passion!

Teeth for Tots addresses oral health information and practices that are important to maintaining a healthy mouth throughout infancy and early childhood. Parents of young children often have questions about keeping their infants and toddlers cavity free. This guide provides health educators with the opportunity to select only those modules that match parents’ interests and the child’s stage of development. It contains 15 full color modules filled with evidence-based information on a wide variety of topics related to oral health in young children.

Teeth for Two is a set of 10 oral health educational modules designed for health educators who serve pregnant women. Every woman experiences pregnancy differently and has their own set of questions and concerns around the topic of oral health. These modules serve as a framework that can be individualized to meet each woman’s needs so that she can have a healthy pregnancy and raise her children to be cavity free…and ready to learn. 

Each module contains background information that is concise and simple to read as well as a sample agenda that can be easily customized to fit the situation. Health educators find it easy to use, providing many ideas for conversation starters, demonstrations, and colorful handouts to leave behind. 

Supplemental handouts and useful reference information supporting the use of both of these guides are provided and maintained online.

 http://www.saavsus.com/kansas-head-start-association/ 

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oral health handouts for parents

Early childhood professionals are always looking for quality handouts to leave with parents to reinforce education. Based on the research provided by literacy experts, the Fast Facts Handouts for Parents contain simple words and lots of white space, making reading easier; while bright graphics keep the reader engaged. The Fast Facts are a collection of issue-specific oral health fliers. They reinforce the oral health information provided by home visitors and educators so that families are encouraged to increase the frequency and consistency of good oral health practices.  Fast Facts are two-sided: English and Spanish.  Click here to see the list of oral health topics covered. Fast Facts are available from the following sources: