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Experiment-based kits teach the importance of good oral hygiene and healthy eating choices
OKLAHOMA (Sept. 20, 2021) – Delta Dental of Oklahoma, the state’s leading dental benefits provider, today announced a free resource available to Oklahoma third through sixth-grade teachers. MouthScience is a science program that demonstrates why good oral hygiene and healthy food and drink choices are important to overall health. Created by the Delta Dental of Oklahoma Foundation, the MouthScience Kit helps students use basic science and math skills, aligned with Oklahoma Academic Standards, to see and understand the correlation of sugar and acid to tooth decay.
"Lifelong healthy habits are fortified during childhood,” said John Gladden, president and CEO of Delta Dental of Oklahoma. “To date, our MouthScience program has been presented by Delta Dental of Oklahoma employees. We are now extending the program’s reach with a kit Oklahoma teachers can use to present MouthScience in their own classrooms.”
Each MouthScience kit includes pH strips, lab sheets, a gift card to purchase a variety of drinks, paper towels, small cups with lids, and step-by-step directions and illustrations for teachers. In addition, the kit includes toothbrushes for teachers to distribute to the students to further empower them to maintain and improve their oral health.
“The Delta Dental of Oklahoma Foundation produces and supports programs that provide oral health education to young people in Oklahoma,” said Delta Dental of Oklahoma Foundation Director Terrisa Singleton. “We know teachers play a key role in helping students understand why oral health is vital to overall health. We are pleased to offer this free program that educates students with fun, hands-on experiments.”
Teri Bachhofer, education specialist with Delta Dental of Oklahoma Foundation and clinic educator for the MouthScience program, taught elementary school for 11 years before joining the Foundation. She has been heavily involved in the MouthScience curriculum development.
"Shaping healthy attitudes and habits concerning oral health in Oklahoma begins with educating our state's youth,” Bachhofer said. “Even if MouthScience only plants a tiny seed about the importance of oral health and its effect on overall health, it can grow to have a significant effect over time.”
To learn more about MouthScience and to register for kits, please visitDDOKFoundation.org/MouthScience.
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Delta Dental of Oklahoma is the leading provider of dental benefits in the state. Delta Dental of Oklahoma (DDOK) serves more than one million eligible members and nearly 9,500 Oklahoma-headquartered companies. DDOK established its Foundation in 1998 to advance the company's not-for-profit mission to improve the oral health of all Oklahomans. For more information about Delta Dental of Oklahoma, please visit DeltaDentalOK.org.
Delta Dental of Oklahoma Foundation is the philanthropic affiliate of Delta Dental of Oklahoma and is the state’s single largest contributor to dental health and education-related projects and initiatives. The Foundation is funded entirely by proceeds from Delta Dental of Oklahoma. For more information, visitDDOKFoundation.org.