Delta delivers dental health kits

February was Children’s Dental Health Month in Minnesota.

Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation delivered more than 50,000 dental health kits and educational materials to first-graders across the state through its Smiles@School program. Schools included most elementary schools in Carlton County.

The kits contain critical oral health resources: a toothbrush, fluoridated toothpaste, floss, a timer, a water bottle, an oral health educational booklet, and more. The Foundation is also providing an educational video to teachers and nurses on the importance of oral health.

Improving oral health awareness and access to care are key components to the mission of Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation. According to health experts:

• students in America lose 51 million school-hours per year due to dental illness;

• dental care is a top unmet health care need for children in America;

• one of every five third-graders in Minnesota has untreated tooth decay; and

• dental caries, also known as cavities or tooth decay, is the most prevalent chronic infectious disease in children.