Comments from Parents Participating in the Oral Health Forum

The Oral Health Forum benefited from the participation of several parents who offered valuable input to the discussion. As one of the parents said, she was able to bring daily "real life" health information, concerns, and problems to the discussion. The parents also were an important conduit back to their programs and communities.

Tracy Kennedy, chair of the Head Start Parent Policy Council in Litchfield, Connecticut, said she took what she learned at the Forum and applied it that night with her family. Tracy enjoyed sitting and sharing her thoughts with educators who worked in the field of oral health. She found it gratifying that her opinions, as well as the opinions of other parents, were listened to by the experts.

Tracy also found it exciting to be on the cutting edge of oral health information. She was particularly interested in the research on cavities as a disease–a concept unfamiliar to her before the Forum and important to her as a parent. She was excited to learn that oral health actually begins before birth and that a woman taking care of her teeth while pregnant has a positive effect on her unborn child. Although some of the information presented was scientific, the sessions helped her understand the concepts and provided an opportunity for her to speak with experts "on the same level." She knew that her input was valued since she was able to discuss the daily concerns and problems that average parents face–a critical aspect to any oral health practice.

Melissa Scott, a parent representative who works with the Olympic Education Service Department in Bremerton, Washington, attended the Forum with the hope of learning how to get dental services to small communities and remote areas like Alaska–she had lived in remote areas where dental care was hard, if not impossible, to find. Melissa found the experts at the Forum to be very open. While following the medical jargon used by some of the presenters was difficult at first, they did a good job of explaining the terms and why it was important for people to be familiar with the terms. By the end of the presentations, Melissa was comfortable with the new jargon and information she had learned. Melissa was honored to have been asked to participate in the Forum, and felt that her interest and work in trying to get oral health services to young children in remote areas was valued by people at the Forum.

 

"Excellent idea to include Head Start parents–it is rare for agencies to include those persons who actually receive the services. People don't realize they can learn a great deal from them."
-Agency Participant

" I learned a great deal of information from people other than my usual colleagues–from parents and people who work with children on a daily basis."
-Dentist Participant