Bright Smiles, Bright Futures:
New Oral Health Kit for Early Head Start

At a recent health conference in Washington D.C., the U.S. Surgeon General emphasized the importance of good oral care in the overall development of children. Nowhere is this better understood than through the long-term partnership of Head Start and the Colgate-Palmolive Company. Since 1991, Colgate and Head Start have worked together to educate children and their families about the importance of good oral care through the award-winning Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures program. Each year, this multimedia classroom kit brings developmentally appropriate, self-esteem-based materials and activities into Head Start centers nationwide.

Now, for 2001, Colgate is extending its commitment to include an all-new, free program kit for Early Head Start. This new addition to the Bright Smiles, Bright Futures family of education materials focuses on the importance of good oral health from before birth through the age of 24 months. Because it is a fact: good oral health practices during these first two years of a child's development are critical in helping his or her smile to last a lifetime.

Classroom kits are available to Early Head Start programs through their grantee on a first-come, first-served basis, and include a Teachers Guide, poster, and a set of four reproducible Parent Take-Homes. Orders will be fulfilled upon request of the grantee–so be sure to contact your grantee to obtain your copy of Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures for Early Head Start!

 

Tufts University School of Dental Medicine is producing a video on oral health that will be available for distribution in the spring of 2001. For more information about the video, please contact–

Carole Palmer Ed.D., R.D.
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
1 Kneeland Street
Boston, Ma 02111.
e-mail: carole.palmer@tufts.edu.