Staff, families and children at five early childhood services in Bass Coast and South Gippsland are all smiles after receiving a Smiles 4 Miles award from Oral Health Victoria.
Smiles 4 Miles is an initiative of Oral Health Victoria which aims to improve the oral health of Victorian children and their families in high risk areas.
The key messages promoted in Smiles 4 Miles are Drink well, Eat well and Clean well. The program is implemented locally by the South Coast Prevention Team, a partnership between Bayside Health Regional and South Gippsland Hospital.
We all want our children to thrive. Unfortunately, children with tooth decay and poor oral health can have trouble eating, sleeping, and paying attention at kindergarten.
The percentage of children in Bass Coast and South Gippsland aged three to five attending public dental services who have at least one decayed, missing or filled tooth is 30 percent and 42 percent respectively, which is above the Victorian average rate. Tooth decay is largely preventable.
Allora Kindergarten, Bass Coast Children’s Centre, Foster Early Learning, Hassett Street Kindergarten and Karmai Community Children’s Centre completed the required criteria to achieve the award, demonstrating their commitment to improving oral health.
Early childhood services achieve the award by implementing healthy eating and oral health policies, completing a menu assessment if they provide food, engaging with families about the importance of oral health, and educating children through a variety of fun learning experiences.
Amy Rogers, Early Childhood Teacher and Educational Leader at Foster Early Learning, was excited to see the service awarded.
She says, “Our involvement in Smiles 4 Miles highlights the importance we place on intentionally teaching health and wellbeing, and the importance of sharing this knowledge with educators and families”.
She added, “Smiles 4 Miles supports us to embed messages about eating well, drinking well and cleaning well into our daily routine and program."
Paul Greenhalgh, Chief Executive Officer at South Gippsland Hospital, applauded the early childhood services for achieving the awards.
“Smiles 4 Miles awarded early childhood services are leading the way to help children form good healthy eating and oral health habits early," he said.
Mr Greenhalgh added, “By promoting healthy habits early in life, they are helping to set the foundations for local children to have a healthy start to life."