What do Chompy the Carrot, the Tooth Fairy, toothbrushes, sugar displays, and people in lab coats have in common? Children’s Dental Health Day in Puyallup!

For the 23rd year and in celebration of February as Children’s Dental Health month, the Pierce County Dental Society (PCDS) sponsored an array of free oral health services, resources, and information for children and their families.

Pierce County Dental Society dentists volunteered, along with other volunteer dentists, dental assistants, and dental hygienists, including those from Community Health Care, Bates and Clover Park  Dental Assisting Schools to provide free oral screenings, fluoride varnish applications, and family oral health instructions. Children needing additional care were seen on the nearby Medical Teams International mobile dental van staffed by volunteer Pierce County dentists.

Families also received valuable oral and other health-related information, instructions on how to sign up for the Access to Baby and Child Dentistry (ABCD) program, and obtained referrals to affordable dental resources within Pierce County.  Participating Pierce County Oral Health Coalition partners and other community resources included:

• Bates Dental Assisting School
• Clover Park Dental Assisting School
• Community Health Care
• Good Samaritan Bicycle Program
• Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children
• Medical Teams International
• Pierce County Dentists Care
• Pierce County Dental Foundation
• Puyallup Tribal Health Authority
• SeaMar Community Health
• Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s ABCD Program

Chompy the Carrot entertained the crowd while conveying the vital message that nutrition matters when it comes to maintaining healthy teeth. For more information on how to keep your child’s teeth healthy,  go here.