Sealing teeth to keep cavities out

by Beth Mueller

Wednesday, October 31, 2007 00:00

As costume-clad children hit the streets across the nation tonight to trick-or-treat for small mountains of sugary candy, more than 100 Madison children will be especially protected from the damaging effects of sugar on their teeth.

The Halloween Sealant Day program, at which Madison-area children without dental insurance can receive dental sealants — the application of a plastic material to certain teeth to protect against cavities — free of charge, is run by the Dane County Division of Public Health. However, this year more than 20 University of Wisconsin Pre-Dental Society students volunteered as well.

"The kids don’t want to see us old people, you know. They like seeing these kids who are closer to their age and really enthusiastic," said Maureen Oostdik, a dental health specialist with the Dane County Division of Public Health. "They loved it."

According to Oostdik, 302 teeth were sealed Friday among the 115 appointments held at the MATC dental hygiene clinic.

According to Joe Rubin, PDS president, student volunteers provide both educational support and hygiene tools at the event.

"PDS lends a hand … by providing oral health education to the children and families while they’re in the waiting room through various interactive games and educational tools," Rubin wrote in an e-mail to The Badger Herald. "The children love playing with the undergraduate students and it’s rewarding to know that we’re helping these children learn how to better take care of their overall health."

The members of PDS were responsible for assembling "Healthy Teeth, Healthy Kids" bags that were passed out at the event in addition to collecting supplies donated by local and national companies.

Each bag, complete with kid-friendly Halloween decorations, contained age-appropriate toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, brushing timers and anti-cavity sugarless gum. Rubin said 200 of these bags have been distributed so far and that PDS hopes to distribute 500 more by Christmas.

"With the current success of this program, the Pre-Dental Society plans to make this an annual event to help the underprivileged children of Dane County," Rubin wrote of "Healthy Teeth, Healthy Kids."

Oostdik said the event starts with a flyer distributed to Dane County schools offering sealants to children without insurance. From there, parents can make appointments for the event, which takes place on the Friday of the state teachers’ conference, when schools are closed.

"We also try and follow up with the kids to see if they have other dental needs, which they typically do, we make sure we can find them somewhere to go," Oostdik said.

According to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, tooth decay affects 68 percent of adolescents by age 19, and low-income children have twice as much untreated decay as children in higher-income families.