Teaching with Teeth: Oral Health Promotion for Students in Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Community Oral Health Forum (CCOHF)
Heidi Johnson and Kim Bartolomucci
Introduction
 Chicago Public Schools is the 3rd largest school
district in the U.S.
 87 percent of students in Chicago Public Schools
are from low-income homes, and children from lowincome homes are more at-risk for dental disease.
 CCOHF works to improve the oral health of Chicago
area residents through education, communications,
collaboration, assessment, and policy and program
development.
Objectives
 Develop an oral health education curriculum for
students in Chicago Public Schools.
 Tailor the comprehensive lesson to meet the
learning needs of five different age groups:
o Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten
o 1st and 2nd Grade
o 3rd through 5th Grade
o 6th through 8th Grade
o High School
 Include the following topics:
o Oral hygiene
o Dental visits
o Healthy eating
o Caries etiology and gum disease
o Fluoride
o Benefits of chewing sugar-free gum
o Trauma prevention (bottles and Sippy cups,
mouthguards, oral piercings)
o Oral cancer from tobacco use and excessive
alcohol use (Grades 6 through High School)
o Oral cancer from Human papillomavirus (HPV)
(High School only; with approval from Chicago
Public Schools HIV, Health and Wellness
Materials Review Committee)
Methods: Curriculum Development and Scheduling
• Research all major professional dental
organization web sites, including the American
Dental Association web sites for professionals and
consumers.
• Do other online research, including reviewing
pertinent scientific articles on PubMed.
• Submit to three
dentists and one
dental hygienist
for review, and to
primary funder.
• Present to
Chicago Public
Schools Health and
Wellness Materials
Review Committee.
• Obtain list of all CPS
Schools.
• Call school Principals
and Assistant
Principals to make
Initial contact.
• Follow up by visiting
schools to request
meetings with
Principals or
Assistant Principals
in order to schedule
visits.
Methods: Implementation
• Presenters grab students’ attention by starting
out with a “pop quiz” that teaches them fun, littleknown facts about oral health.
• Presenters demonstrate how to use a toothbrush
and floss properly with a 3X life-size model set of
teeth and an extra large toothbrush.
• For Pre-Kindergarten through around Grade 3
students, Presenters may use toy fruits,
vegetables, and other various foods to teach
about healthy eating.
• Teachers and classroom aides give valuable
feedback on presenters and presentations by
answering the following questions on evaluation
forms.
Results
 Funding secured and full-time Oral Health Educator
hired.
 70 page curriculum developed, including five lesson
plans for five different age groups (See Objectives)
and approved by Chicago Public Schools Health and
Wellness Committee.
 Each lesson plan includes the following.
o Teaching Objectives
o Behavioral Objectives
o Lesson Plan Diagram
o Lesson Plan Outline
o Sample Script
 It is possible to develop a 20 minute
comprehensive and engaging oral health lesson
plan tailored for specific age groups.
 Classroom interventions can serve to increase
children’s awareness of the importance of oral
health as well as increase children’s oral health
knowledge.
o At the end of presentations, presenters ask
students what they learned; answers include:
 The role of fluoride in preventing cavities.
 The possibility of oral cancer.
 The consequences of gum disease.
 Program currently reaches a small fraction of the
number of students in Chicago Public Schools,
which is currently 404,151.
1. Was the presentation informative?
2. Was it relevant and age-appropriate?
3. Was the presenter knowledgeable and wellprepared?
4. Was the message communicated clearly and
effectively?
5. Was this a good use of classroom time?
6. Any other comments?
 Continue to expand program (two additional
part-time oral health educators hired), recruit
student volunteers, including dental students,
pre-dental students, and dental hygiene
students.
 Numbers of students reached through program
expected to increase exponentially.
• Presenters pass out goodie bags with
toothbrushes, toothpaste, and brochures to take
home with them, reinforcing what was learned
and encouraging healthy habits.
• The brochure (pictured to the left) contains
information that was taught during the lesson
and a note to the parent or caretaker letting him
or her know there was a presentation on oral
health in the child’s classroom.
Conclusions and Future Directions
Acknowledgements
 Oral Health Educator, 13 Kennedy-King College
dental hygiene student volunteers, and one
additional pre-dental graduate student volunteer
have delivered presentations to over 6,255 students.
 Special thanks to the Wrigley Company
Foundation for funding the CCOHF Oral Health
Education Program.
 Special thanks to Chicago Public Schools and
Chicago Department of Public Health for
partnering with CCOHF on this program.