- Title
- 'Smiles not tears': a dental education program in New South Wales for young Aboriginal children
- Creator
- Smith, L.; Blinkhorn, F.; Moir, R.; Brown, N.; Blinkhorn, A.
- Relation
- NHMRC.1030546 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1030546
- Relation
- Australian and New Zealand Journal of Dental and Oral Health Therapy , Issue 1, p. 6-11
- Publisher
- Australian Dental and Oral Health Therapists' Association
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2016
- Description
- Background: Early Childhood caries has a severe impact on yourn Aboriginal children resulting in pain and infection. Treatment is complex and accessing dental services is difficult, especially in remote areas. There is a need for a culturally appropriate oral health education program to prevent dental caries in young Aboriginal children. Aboriginal Health Workers (AHW's) have contact with Aboriginal families and are involved in health screening and education. So they are a potential partner to offer oral health advice. This paper presents details of an oral health education program, 'Smiles not Tears' (SnT). It is delivered to Aboriginal families with young children by AHW's. Details: Following a successful pilot study, SnT has been implemented in New South Wales, Australia as a Phase II clinical trial. Contact was made with Chief Executives of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, there were informed about the program and all agreed to join. The program commences when children are six months old and concludes at 30 months. Over six scheduled visits AHW's deliver advice on bottle use, tooth brushing with a fluoride toothpaste, snacking on sugary foods, and screen for dental caries using the Early Childhood Oral Health Methodology by gently lifting the lip. At the final visit the decayed, missing, filled teeth/ surfaces (dmft/s) of participants at 30 months will be recorded. Conclusion: The SnT program recognises the need for an oral health education program within Aboriginal communities, values the involvement of AHW's and has the potential to improve the oral health of young Aboriginal children.
- Subject
- Aboriginal; Aboriginal health worker; dental caries; health education; prevention; young children
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1338525
- Identifier
- uon:28044
- Identifier
- ISSN:2200-3584
- Language
- eng
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