Oral Health

Oral health is important to overall health and well-being for children and youth. Poor dental health can lead to negative health and social outcomes for young people and is important to many aspects of a child’s development (Rowan-Legg, 2013). 

Students with dental pain or dental disease may have problems eating, issues with speech development, and low self-esteem. Dental issues and dental pain can also result in trouble concentrating and learning during class time, or  missed school days due to dental issues.

One significant oral health concern in children is early childhood caries (ECC) which is decay involving the primary teeth in children younger than 6 years of age. ECC are the most common preventable chronic disease in childhood. By the time a child has reached school age, all twenty of their primary teeth have come in and their permanent teeth start to come in between the ages of 6 and 7 years. It is the perfect time to have them start learning proper oral hygiene. Incorporating this essential learning in schools ensures that kids understand the importance of proper oral care and builds healthy habits for optimal oral health in adulthood.

Local school screening results show that children with decay and/or requiring urgent care has increased by 63% between the 2011/12 and 2018/19 school years, indicating a worsening trend in oral health among children over time in Windsor-Essex County. Compared to Ontario, the percentage of children with urgent dental needs in 2016/17 was two-times greater locally.  Children from schools associated with lower socioeconomic status had the worst oral health outcomes locally (e.g., prevalence of caries). In Windsor, 23.4% of children (0-5 years old) and 21.1% of all children (0-17 years old) live in low-income households compared to 12.4% and 11.5% for all of Ontario. School screening data from 2018/2019 reported that 12.4% of children screened required urgent dental care. In 2021/2022, while only medium and  high risk schools were screened, the data showed that 17.7% of children screened required urgent dental care.

Using the Ministry of Education’s Foundations for a Healthy School framework, schools, school boards, parents and community partners can work together to develop healthy school environments that promote and support student well-being.

Oral health resources and supports are organized below following this framework.


Resources & Information for:

Lessons and Activities

School Dental Screenings

Every year registered dental hygienists and dental assistants from the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit visit all publicly-funded (and some privately-funded) elementary schools in Windsor and Essex County to screen all Junior (JK) and Senior (SK) Kindergarten, and Grade 2 students. Additional students from other grades may be screened, based on the previous year’s dental screening results of Grade 2 students.

These school dental screenings do not replace a child’s regular visit to the dentist, as they are visual assessments only. School screenings and oral health education assist families and kids to:

  • Identify children with oral health needs and notify the family.
  • Assist in providing resources for families and linking them to eligible programs.
  • Monitor oral health needs in the community.
  • Educate children on the importance of oral hygiene and oral health habits.

What happens at a school screening?

  • A dental hygienist/dental assistant uses a “no-touch” technique on the child and takes a quick look; the only equipment used is a light and a sterilized mouth mirror.
  • Appropriate PPE is worn, hand hygiene is performed, sterilized instruments are used.
  • A “dental report card” is sent home with each child - an informational card that provides the dental hygienist’s findings and their recommendations.

Resources

Community Programs

  • Healthy Smiles Ontario is a free, government funded dental program for eligible children and youth 17 and under. To be eligible a child needs to be a resident of Ontario and live in a household with a net family income that meets the income eligibility requirements for the program. For more information about how to enroll and the services that are included in the program, visit our Healthy Smiles Ontario information page.
  • Fact sheets about the program are available in Arabic, Chinese (Traditional), English, Farsi, French, Italian, Oji-Cree, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Somalian, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Ukrainian, Urdu, and Vietnamese.
  • St. Clair College Dental Clinic: This dental clinic, located at St. Clair College, is a clinic that is available to anyone who is 18 years or older or between 13-17 years old with parental consent. Please note that the dental clinic is a teaching facility. Dental students are supervised by registered dental hygienists or a licenced dentist.
    • Services provided:
    • Complete Oral Inspection
    • Necessary X-rays
    • Periodontal Scaling/Root Planing
    • Periodontal Probing
    • Selective Polishing
    • Fluoride Treatment
    • Sealants
    • Oral Hygiene Instructions
    • Nutritional Counseling (Tailored to oral health)

     

    There is an all-inclusive cost of $25. Certain other services would have an extra cost.

School Dental Screenings

Every year registered dental hygienists and dental assistants from the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit visit all publicly-funded (and some privately-funded) elementary schools in Windsor and Essex County to screen all Junior (JK) and Senior (SK) Kindergarten, and Grade 2 students. Additional students from other grades may be screened, based on the previous year’s dental screening results of Grade 2 students.

These school dental screenings do not replace a child’s regular visit to the dentist, as they are visual assessments only. School screenings and oral health education assist families and kids to:

  • Identify children with oral health needs and notify the family.
  • Assist in providing resources for families and linking them to eligible programs.
  • Monitor oral health needs in the community.
  • Educate children on the importance of oral hygiene and oral health habits.

What happens at a school screening?

  • A dental hygienist/dental assistant uses a “no-touch” technique on the child and takes a quick look; the only equipment used is a light and a sterilized mouth mirror.
  • Appropriate PPE is worn, hand hygiene is performed, sterilized instruments are used.
  • A “dental report card” is sent home with each child - an informational card that provides the dental hygienist’s findings and their recommendations.

Resources

Community Programs

  • Healthy Smiles Ontario is a free, government funded dental program for eligible children and youth 17 and under. To be eligible a child needs to be a resident of Ontario and live in a household with a net family income that meets the income eligibility requirements for the program. For more information about how to enroll and the services that are included in the program, visit our Healthy Smiles Ontario information page.
  • Fact sheets about the program are available in Arabic, Chinese (Traditional), English, Farsi, French, Italian, Oji-Cree, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Somalian, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Ukrainian, Urdu, and Vietnamese.
  • St. Clair College Dental Clinic: This dental clinic, located at St. Clair College, is a clinic that is available to anyone who is 18 years or older or between 13-17 years old with parental consent. Please note that the dental clinic is a teaching facility. Dental students are supervised by registered dental hygienists or a licenced dentist.
    • Services provided:
    • Complete Oral Inspection
    • Necessary X-rays
    • Periodontal Scaling/Root Planing
    • Periodontal Probing
    • Selective Polishing
    • Fluoride Treatment
    • Sealants
    • Oral Hygiene Instructions
    • Nutritional Counseling (Tailored to oral health)

     

    There is an all-inclusive cost of $25. Certain other services would have an extra cost.

Sorry, there aren't any resources for this audience.