In partnership with the Chinese Stomatological Association (CSA) and 3M Oral Care, the FDI World Dental Federation will continue Smile Around the World in China in 2019, following its successful implementation in 2018. Smile Around the World aims to raise awareness of oral health in rural and urban communities through engaging activities for children.
Between March and April 2019, CSA will carry out participative workshops on oral health in three elementary schools in the cities of Pingxiang and Ganzhou in Jiangxi province: Jinxian Primary School, Primary School Affiliated to Pingxiang Normal University, and Yifu Primary School.
Access to oral healthcare remains uneven throughout the world, including China, FDI reports, as many children suffer from untreated tooth decay. Smile Around the World aims to introduce the importance of oral health through educational workshops that will help children establish good oral health habits at an early age.
The curriculum is based on seven essential steps to ensure a healthy mouth and smile. As part of the program, children receive colored pencils and an informational booklet in which they illustrate their own oral health messages. The last initiative ran from March to June 2018 in six primary schools in three Chinese provinces, reaching more than 3,600 children.
To promote a long-term, sustainable program, teachers and oral health professionals are also trained to continue teaching oral disease prevention strategies to their students and patients, respectively, even after the program officially concludes.
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