Contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819;
ahatch@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — Oct. 20, 2016
(DALLAS) — “Trick or treat! Trick or treat! Give me something sweet to eat!”
That’s the chant most adults hear when they open their doors on Halloween to hobgoblins, superheroes, witches and movie stars. Scary fun and tasty candy fill goodie bags in every neighborhood, and the bounty is enjoyed for days or weeks.
The candy’s sweet, but cavities are not.
After the celebration ends and the costumes are returned to the closet, parents should consider more far-reaching effects of candy, gum and sweet treats that came home with their children. All of those sweets, when left unchecked, can cause dental problems that last much longer, according to Donna Wicker, dental hygiene faculty member at El Centro College.
What’s one solution? Flossing, said Wicker, and brushing, too.
“Halloween is an excellent time of year to focus or refocus on good flossing and oral hygiene habits,” said Wicker. “One of the American Dental Association’s oral hygiene recommendations is for people to brush and clean between their teeth once a day — meaning that they should engage in daily mechanical interdental cleaning. Mechanical interdental cleaning usually means flossing, but devices used can include dental floss, wooden sticks, small brushes and oral irrigators, or water flossers.”
Children need to learn good oral hygiene habits early, and the trick after treats at Halloween is to get little ghosts and goblins to brush and floss after they eat those sweet, sticky treats, added Wicker.
Dr. Sheila Vandenbush, dean of the new program, added another helpful tip for parents who are teaching their youngsters to brush and floss. “Encourage your child to hum or sing the Happy Birthday song when he or she brushes. While singing and brushing may get a little messy, the time it takes to hum the song is just about the right length of time that your child needs to brush well.”
Vandenbush, along with Wicker and other faculty members, are launching El Centro’s newest allied health program, dental hygiene, this fall. Interested students can apply now for the spring 2017 semester. The new program includes a strong community outreach component and will offer a free dental hygiene clinic on location at 1250 W. Mockingbird Lane in Dallas (suite 500); an appointment is required.
Additionally, details about admission to the new El Centro College dental hygiene program will be provided during free information sessions scheduled in November on these dates: Wednesday, Nov. 9, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Paramount Building, 301 N. Market St., room P705, in downtown Dallas (near the West End DART station); Friday, Nov. 11, from 2 to 3 p.m. at the El Centro College dental hygiene building, 1250 W. Mockingbird Lane in Dallas; and Saturday, Nov. 12, from 10 to 11 a.m., also at the El Centro College dental hygiene building.
For more information, call the El Centro College Health Occupations admissions department at 972-860-5001 or send an email to Sheila Vandenbush, dean of health occupations, at
s.vandenbush@dcccd.edu.
For details online, visit
elcentrocollege.edu/programs/dental-hygiene-program.
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