Plan of Action...

I would like to do many things to help these Head Start kids. I think that one of the most important things is to make oral hygiene fun and rewarding. I don't think that it is enough for a dental hygienist to go into Head Start, tell they what they should be doing, then leave and not follow-up. Kids won't do something unless they have to--or want to.

My goal is to set an example for these kids so that they will want to have good oral hygiene. I would like to go into Head Start and talk with the kids to find out what their knowledge of oral hygiene is--then I will know how to better address them.
Well, I basically already know that nothing is being done to help these kids at home from what I saw when I volunteered there--so I guess we need to start at school.

I would like to have reward charts for each child. They could have one for home brushing and one for school brushing. Everytime they brushed, they could put a sticker on thier chart. At the end of the month (or week), they would get bigger rewards for the more brushing they did. I don't really think that the rewards should be some kind of candy--maybe a book, pencil, or just a ribbon that they could wear on thier shirts...(that would be something that they would be proud of and want to "show-off" to their peers).

I would also want the kids to be able to brush at school. I know that a lot of times, these kids are eating atleast two meals a day at school--so why don't we brush after!? I also think that I would need donations for all of this to take place. I would need toothbrushes, toothpaste (in a good flavor for kids), and other hygiene aids. I can't expect them to have good oral hygiene if they don't have any of the materials!

I will want to do follow-up's with the kids (or have the teachers do the follow-up's), to make sure that they don't loose the excitement for good oral hygiene! I really believe that a few little things can make a huge difference.

I would also like to somehow get the parents more involved--other than with the at home brushing charts. The parents need to support their kids in this attempt to improve thier oral hygiene. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.