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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).

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.

Oral Health

Our Dental Health Department includes dentists, registered dental hygienists, dental assistants, oral health clerks, a health promotion specialist, and a program manager.  

We have a dental clinic located at our Windsor and Leamington locations.

Dental Health offers programs and services to our community including: