Oral B Salutes Dental Hygienists Through New Awareness and Education Programs
Oral-B Laboratories is furthering its commitment to dental hygienists through three new initiatives that recognize the importance of the profession: a comprehensive community outreach program, a continuing education course and a print advertising campaign that acknowledges and salutes the dental hygiene community.
Along with the American Dental Hygienists Association (ADHA), Oral-B is proud to announce the formation of a new community outreach program titled Smiles Within Reach™. The program encourages professional support and promotes oral health and access to oral care education within the community. In fact, according to ADHA and a recent Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health, proper preventive oral health care can potentially reduce the risk of heart disease, oral cancer, diabetes and premature, low-birthweight babies.
The community outreach program is a one-of-a-kind educational experience for dental hygienists and the communities in which they work, fostering a link between the hygienists' important work and the oral health needs of their local community.
"We're excited to be working in collaboration with ADHA and all hygienists to provide access to oral health care education in our communities, and most important, to recognize the cornerstones in this cause, the dental hygienists themselves," said Al Michaels, Vice President of Oral-B Professional Products Group.
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Elements of the new Smiles Within Reach™ program include oral health education materials that hygienists may distribute at community outreach events, planning and education resources to help communicate key messages to particular target groups, and assistance in identifying individuals in need of oral care education. In addition, the program provides a network to share community event organizing tips and successes with other state and local dental hygiene associations.
ADHA and Oral-B have created an easy-to-implement kit that provides dental hygienists with patient education materials including pamphlets about flossing and brushing, a fact sheet containing oral health information. Oral health professionals can view additional information or apply for free materials at www.smileswithinreach.org.
To support the continuing education of dental hygienists, Oral-B is sponsoring the "Case Studies in Dental Hygiene" continuing education supplement. The first in a series of two case study courses is titled: "The Treatment Complexities of the Turner's Syndrome Patient." Each CE course offers one content hour of continuing education credit (CEU) and is accredited by the University of Maryland. The course will be distributed to 65,000 registered dental hygienists with the July issue of RDH magazine.
In addition, Oral-B has developed a "salute in print" - an advertisement acknowledging the important role dental hygienists play in the oral health profession and the dedication they bring to their work. Poster reprints of the ad are available to dental hygienists to help them create awareness and education of their work in the dental office.
Oral-B recognizes the important role dental hygienists play in maintaining good oral health for all patients. If you would like to learn more about any of the programs or products Oral-B currently has to offer, please visit www.oralb.com or contact Oral-B at 1-800-44-ORALB.
ADHA
ADHA is the largest national organization representing the professional interests of the more than 120,000 dental hygienists across the country. Dental hygienists are preventive oral health professionals, licensed in dental hygiene, who provide educational, clinical and therapeutic services that support total health through the promotion of optimal oral health.
For more information about ADHA, dental hygiene or the link between oral health and general health, visit ADHA at www.adha.org.
