Dental Health Matters! | Health Trends in Early Childhood Education (ECE) – February 2026

Children miss about 34 million school hours annually due to acute dental problems and unplanned dental care.

Tooth decay is more common than asthma.

• About 50% of children ages 2-19 have had cavities.
• 1 in 5 adults (21%) has at least one untreated cavity

Children from families with low incomes have more untreated cavities due to:

• Lack of resources to pay for care
• Lack of transportation to a clinic
• Inability to get time off from work 
• Physical disability or other illness

Sadly, these patterns have remained the same since they were first reported over 25 years ago (2000 Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General.)

Celebrate National Children’s Dental Health Month:

Raise awareness about the importance of dental health in February and every month!

• Get your free materials at the PA Coalition for Oral Health: Request Materials | (PCOH) PA Coalition for Oral Health

Start Healthy Habits Early (See Good Oral Health Starts Early: AAP Policy Explained – HealthyChildren.org)

Promote healthy tooth behaviors for babies:

• Do not put a baby to bed with a bottle at night or at naptime.
• Do not let a baby use a bottle filled with a sweet drink
• Do not dip a pacifier in anything sweet like sugar or honey

Promote nutrition and oral hygiene habits for preschool children:

• Children’s nutrition choices are tightly linked to their oral health. Ideally, limit frequent snacking and sugary beverages, as both contribute to cavities.
  • Avoid sticky foods like raisins, fruit snacks, and gummy vitamins
• Encourage supervised toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste (See Fluoride for Children: Parent FAQs – HealthyChildren.org)
  • For children < 3 years, brush their teeth as soon as they appear by using fluoride toothpaste in an amount no more than a smear or the size of a grain of rice
  • For children 3-6 years, use a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste
  • Brush teeth thoroughly twice per day for two minutes (use a timer or play a song)
  • Supervise children and assist with toothbrushing until age 7 or 8
• Share only the facts about the benefits of drinking fluoridated water:
  • Fact Checked: Fluoride is a Powerful Tool for Preventing Tooth Decay

Caregivers: Rethink Your Drink! 

Many popular drinks contain sugar and acid. Sugar, acids, and artificial sweeteners can weaken your teeth. How often you drink them matters to your teeth and smile.

• Drink only water between meals. Water is always the best choice – it has no sugar, acids, or caffeine.
• Carbonation raises every drink’s acidity; any bubbly beverage is likely to be harmful to teeth over time.
• Rinse your mouth out with water after drinking a sugary drink. Sugary Drinks and Your Oral Health | (PCOH) PA Coalition for Oral Health
• Brushing, flossing, and regular dental visits can reduce tooth decay. Oral Health | Department of Health | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Establish healthy bedtime rituals:

• Brush, Book, Bed (See Brush, Book, Bed: How to Structure Your Child’s Nighttime Routine – HealthyChildren.org)

BBB_handout_Jan2023.pdf

Access Preventive Dental Care

Maintain regular well-child visits:

Medical providers can perform oral health screening to detect signs of dental decay and apply fluoride varnish to the primary (baby) teeth of infants and children at every visit.

• See Oral Health Resources for Families

“First Dental Visit by the First Birthday”

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American Dental Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics all agree that children should have their first dental visit by their 1st birthday or within 6 months of their first tooth eruption, whichever comes first.

• See The Importance of the Age 1 Dental Visit)

School Hours Lost Due to Acute/Unplanned Dental Care. American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD)

2024 Oral Health Surveillance Report: Selected Findings Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Oral Health Surveillance Report: Dental Caries, Tooth Retention, and Edentulism, United States, 2017–March 2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services; 2024.

Oral Health in America Executive Summary National Institutes of Health. 2021.

Does oral health influence school performance and school attendance? A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry. 26 October 2018.

If We Care About Learning, We Must Care About Kids’ Oral Health. Paula Izvernari.  LA School Report. January 20, 2026.

Maintaining and Improving the Oral Health of Young Children. Pediatrics (2023) 151 (1): e2022060417. 

Oral health in America: A report of the Surgeon General U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2000.