Healthy mouths as tooth-conscious toddlers win oral health contest
Hundreds of tooth-conscious tots have battled it out to be named the Eastern Bay ’ s best for healthy mouths .
26 Early Childhood Centres across the Bay of Plenty took part in the annual World Oral Health Day competition . The contest challenged staff , parents and children to get creative in promoting oral health . They did just that with everything from growing veggie gardens , to healthy picnics , producing themed artwork , songs and displays , performing dental demos and fizzy drink experiments .
“ The effort put in by all the centres was awesome ,” said BOPDHB Oral Health Promoter Norma van Arendonk . “ The response was overwhelming this year and the judging was extremely challenging because the standard was so high .”
The Eastern Bay World Oral Health Day 2016 results were : 1st Waiapu Kids - St Georges ;
2nd Tui Room Little Orchard ; 3rd Karamuramu Kindergarten ; Highly commended Edgecumbe Playcentre .
There was also a Kohanga Reo category for the first time this year and the results were : 1st Terere Kohanga Reo ; 2nd Tanatana Kohanga Reo ; 3rd Te Huinga o te Ao Kohanga Reo
This year ’ s competition theme was ‘ Healthy Mouth , Healthy Body ’ and the centres were provided with an activities book - by contest organisers the BOPDHB Oral Health Promotion team - to record the activities undertaken .
Waiapu Kids Centre Manager Chantal Gibbs said amongst other activities the children set up dental demonstrations to learn about effective tooth brushing .
“ It was awesome to have won as it was the first time we had taken part ,” she said . “ One of the messages which kept
coming back from parents was how much the children were going home and talking about the lessons they were learning here which is great . It opens up the discussion around oral health with parents as well .”
Huhana Mitai , Kaiako ( head teacher ) at Terere Kohanga Reo , said her school was equally happy to have triumphed .
“ We all really enjoyed it . The staff , parents and kids all got involved and it was a pretty full-on week with organising all the activities .
“ We were happy to have won but this really backs up a lot of the healthy eating and drinking messages we promote here . We have our own gardens and grow veggies and focus a lot on drinking water .”
The winning centres received water bottles or toothbrushes and toothpaste , as well as certificates to record their achievements . All centres have had their entries laminated and returned as a learning resource .
Four-year-olds Beaumont Broadhurst ( left ) and Aaron Nillesen ( right ) from Eastern Bay World Oral Health Day 2016 winners Waiapu Kids Centre .
Kawerau Outreach Dental Clinics Proposed for Under 5s
The health of our tamariki is behind a proposal for a new outreach dental clinic for under-5s in Kawerau .
Bay of Plenty District Health Board ( BOPDHB ) Principal Dental Officer Rudi Johnson , who was brought up in Kawerau and has links to Tuwharetoa iwi , said she regularly dealt with the sad consequences of youngsters not being taught to look after their teeth properly .
“ I recently removed 30 teeth from four children during a four-hour general anaesthetic session at Whakatane Hospital ,” she said . “ I removed 12 teeth from one child who was under three .”
A community meeting about the proposed clinics , which will be run by the BOPDHB , will take place on Wednesday 18 May . It will be held at the Conference Building , 20 Islington Street , Kawerau , from 10- 11.30am .
Rudi said the proposed clinics are not a drop-in service so patients will need a referral from Whakatane Hospital . Although based in Kawerau , patients from the surrounding areas of Edgecumbe , Te Teko and Murupara will also be invited to attend .
“ This is all about access to services for the community . The Whakatane Hospital Paediatrics Department has been running outreach clinics in Kawerau for about three years now and our intention is to tie in with them . It might evolve into a drop-in clinic but for now you will need a referral .
“ The purpose of the meeting is to talk to the community face to face and hear what their needs are , to get their ideas and opinions . So we hope to see as many people there as possible .
“ It ’ s such an important topic . This is about improving dental health for our tamariki in the Eastern Bay . People think that milk teeth don ’ t matter but they do . If these teeth have started to rot there may well be an abscess present which can infect the adult teeth . Also , if there are no baby teeth present , the adult teeth can come through crooked or not properly at all .
“ All of this has an effect on how children feel about themselves , self-esteem , smiling , confidence , eating properly , speaking properly , it has a big impact .”
BOPDHB Principal Dental Officer Rudi Johnson is inviting residents of Kawerau and the surrounding area to discuss proposed dental clinics for tamariki at a meeting on Wednesday 18 May .
Staff and pupils of the Kohanga Reo category winners Terere Kohanga Reo