Dental Hygiene In Schools Essay

In elementary, middle and high schools, hygiene is a prevalent issue, especially in areas that live in poverty or are low income. There are three areas my group and I will be focusing on throughout this project. In this paper specifically, I will touch upon dental hygiene. Our goal is to provide awareness that hygiene can greatly affect one’s overall health. Our interventions include presenting this in a creative way to elementary students so that they are able to learn why hygiene is so important. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009), tooth decay and periodontal disease are two oral problems that people often encounter. Tooth decay, also known as a cavity, can affect children in many ways. Cavities can cause children pain, which in turn can cause them to miss school. In poverty areas, many children do not get these type of problems fixed in time which can lead to more serious issues. “Untreated cavities can cause difficulty concentrating on learning and poor appearance” (CDC, 2009). “Periodontal (gum) disease is an infection caused by bacteria under the gum tissue that begins to destroy the gums and bone” (CDC, 2009). This can affect a child’s normal routine because teeth can become loose, making it hard to do things like chewing or eating. If this occurs, …show more content…
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a reliable source that provides information relevant to my topic. Information about dental hygiene contributes to our goal of increasing awareness of hygiene. I have also searched through County Health Rankings and Road Maps as another source of data. This is where I provided the table of clinical care in Androscoggin County, ME. Significantly, it explains that there are 55 dentists in this area, and the dentist ratio is 1,956:1. Both sites are considered primary and secondary data because they gather data from surveys, past research data, and federal