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| Contact Us |
| P.O. Box 282, McMinnville, OR 97128 |
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Call: NA |
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Send us email: email
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| Goal 4 |
Goal #4: Prevent dental caries and poor oral health through proactive education of the community.
This is a long-term goal for the Society that will take both a great deal of time and work to achieve. All long-term interventions require vision, passion, patience and commitment because the outcomes are long-term and not easily accomplished. Community-wide interventions, like Goal #4, also requires political savvy and strong advocacy skills to achieve the outcome. To that end, the Society will work toward the following long-term objectives to attain Goal #4:
Step 1. The Society will work with local communities, the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners, the ADA and others to support and place on the ballot initiatives that would help pay for the equipment, supplies and the know-how to add fluoride to public water supplies that are not currently treating their water. There is overwhelming, peer-reviewed data that supports the use of fluoride in public drinking water supplies to help reduce caries in communities. The Society, acting as an advocate for change, should lead the effort to have fluoride added to drinking water supplies throughout Yamhill County.
Step 2. The Society will work with school districts throughout Yamhill County to add a dental/oral health components to the school's health curriculum. The Society members would select the best curriculum available to purchase for the school, and to provide hands-on demonstrations and education to the kids in as many school as possible. Society members would volunteer to teach the curriculum in a Health or related classroom in a school of their choice and educate kids on oral health. Society members would also bring "goodie bags" to every classroom with a toothbrush, floss and toothpaste since many kids in school these days do not have access to or can afford these basic commodities. This educational campaign would be focused on school-aged kids to help them understand the importance of oral health and to show them proper techniques for caring for their teeth and gums. Long-term interventions begin with a target population, and the Society will focus its attention on turning around the downhill decline in oral health in Yamhill County by working with the kids in the community.
Step 3. The Society will begin developing outreach materials that target populations or subjects that are important for educating community members about their oral health. Many topics could be covered, but the Society should decide over the next few months what kinds and types of outreach materials they would like to see be developed that would help brand the Society, educate the community about oral health, and advocate for community-wide interventions (like adding fluoride in drinking water supplies). The Society might consider advertising in the local media outlets, including Spanish radio and other venues. All materials would be bilingual and culturally sensitive to assure the entire population can access the information. The Outreach Coordinator would be responsible for developing and drafting materials for Society review prior to publishing. All Society members would agree to have these materials available in their waiting rooms and elsewhere for their clients to see. The society would also disseminate the materials widely to cover the entire County to assure access to the information. Materials will be evaluated annually to assure accuracy, completeness and appropriateness.
Step 4. The Society will host a web site with all of the aforementioned materials and information for the community to have access to and to have questions answered passively. The Society might consider having a mailing address and a phone number to ask general, non-medical questions about the Society for potential partners and others. These tools are classic outreach tools that have been proven to be successful in many other arenas.
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