February 24, 2025 • 26 mins
In this episode of Covering Your Health, host Evelyn Erives sits down with Scott McGrath, the Deputy of Systems and Impact for First 5 San Bernardino. Together, they delve into the "Little Teeth, Big Responsibility" campaign, a crucial initiative aimed at helping families understand the importance of early childhood dental care.
Join Evelyn and Scott as they discuss the alarming statistics on childhood dental health, the long-term benefits of maintaining healthy teeth from a young age, and practical tips for parents to ensure their children's smiles stay bright and healthy. Scott shares insights from his extensive experience in public health and community outreach, highlighting the resources and support available to families through First 5 San Bernardino.
Whether you're a parent, caregiver, or simply interested in children's health, this episode is packed with valuable information and actionable advice to help you take charge of your child's dental health. Tune in and learn how you can make a big impact on your little one's smile!
For more information on this show's topic visit IEHP.org or (800) 440-IEHP.
Learn more about “Little Teeth, Big Responsibility” at SmileSBC.org or call First 5 San Bernardino at (909) 386-7706.
Reach out to Evelyn via Instagram @evelynerives or email her at EvelynErives@iHeartMedia.com
Join Evelyn and Scott as they discuss the alarming statistics on childhood dental health, the long-term benefits of maintaining healthy teeth from a young age, and practical tips for parents to ensure their children's smiles stay bright and healthy. Scott shares insights from his extensive experience in public health and community outreach, highlighting the resources and support available to families through First 5 San Bernardino.
Whether you're a parent, caregiver, or simply interested in children's health, this episode is packed with valuable information and actionable advice to help you take charge of your child's dental health. Tune in and learn how you can make a big impact on your little one's smile!
For more information on this show's topic visit IEHP.org or (800) 440-IEHP.
Learn more about “Little Teeth, Big Responsibility” at SmileSBC.org or call First 5 San Bernardino at (909) 386-7706.
Reach out to Evelyn via Instagram @evelynerives or email her at EvelynErives@iHeartMedia.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, Welcome to another episode of Covering your Health. With
that one, Mariva is presented by my amazing partners. I EhP,
we're back with another super informative podcast. I think you're
gonna just get a ton of information about I know
I say that every week, I really do every episode,
but really that's what this is all about.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
It's about education.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Maybe there's a little a few things in each episode
that you just didn't know anything about and you can
take home with you, maybe take to a friend. And
with this particular episode, I feel like everybody will benefit
because well, everyone has teeth and that's just the truth.
And this organization is doing a whole bunch of good
(00:45):
right here in Sambarnandino County.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
It's verse five.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Sam Bernardino last year was actually able to be a
part of their campaign Little Teeth, Big Responsibility, which really
encourages parents to start their child's dental care right for
the start, right from the start. I'm talking about less
than one year old. As you know, and I'm a mom.
Sometimes getting the kids to even get in the shower
(01:10):
or bath or anything is a challenge right let alone
getting them to learn how to brush their teeth and
all of those things. So we're gonna learn a lot.
We're gonna learn how we can implement those routines. We're
gonna make it fine, We're gonna find ways, and we're
gonna learn why it is so so important to be
starting that oral care so early. Today I am joined
(01:31):
by Scott McGrath, the current Deputy of Systems and Impact
for First five San Bernardino, who's gonna walk us through
the importance of this campaign and all of the great
work that First five Sabernandino is doing throughout the county,
and really just so much more.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Let's get started.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Welcome to Covering Your Health, a wellness podcast dedicated to
covering all areas of living a healthy and happy lifestyle,
from healthy hearts to understanding health plans and everything in between.
Each episode will provide you with a better understanding of
managing your health, preventative care, and staying on the.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Right path for your family's wellness journey.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
The Covering Your Health podcast is presented by I e HP.
Now your host, Evelina Revez.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Welcome, Scott, how are you great?
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Evelin? How are you today?
Speaker 1 (02:22):
I'm really good. I'm so happy to have you here.
Well on zoom, even thank you. I want to start.
I always start all the podcasts with getting to know
our guests a little bit further beyond their profession. How
did you find yourself in the line of work that
you're in now?
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Oh gosh. Lots of twists and turns, but always with
the theme of helping out kids. Even in high school, I
knew I wanted to work with kids.
Speaker 5 (02:52):
I went to college to put myself in a position
that I can do that.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
I was a social worker for many years working with
foster kids. I worked at a school before that for
kids with severe emotional disturbance, of many of which were
foster kids. Worked with alumni of the foster care system
for quite a while, people who had left the fostercare
system and needed help getting on their feet and that
kind of thing.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
Yeah, some mental health work.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
Again, mostly I got assigned foster kids to work with
because everybody knew that was my gig. And then I
ended up over here at First Five, which is different
in terms of foster kids, but it's still kids, so.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
It is it very much is.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
I've worked with First five for many, many years now
on various campaigns throughout my career with iHeartRadio and i've
been you know, I'm in AWE. It's a very great
organization and it's really cool. So you you found yourself
knowing you wanted to work with kids at a very
young age.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
What do you think that was? You just loved kids
when you were young.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
Yeah. I have always always loved kids. I love being
around them, I love talking to them. I loved watching
them grow and change. Yeah, I've just always loved kids,
even before I have my own kids, and my kids
are in their twenties now and I've got that experience
looking forward to grandkids not yet, but that's going to
be good.
Speaker 5 (04:12):
I just kinds have always been my thing.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
I just love kids.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
I feel like the same thing.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
I don't think if I was not a radio personality,
I would be working with children of some sort.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
I just think the same exact thing.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
My first job was actually Radio Disney in radio, so
it was all about the kids, right. It was all
about how much fun we can have, how many smiles
we can make, and that was my favorite.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
If I was going to be in broadcasting, I'd be
doing something like that.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Yeah, exactly. Well let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Obviously, you have worked with you said since twenty ten
you've been with First five.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
So for those that are unfamiliar with the organization, will
you tell us a little bit about Verse five and
what you do for the community.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Sure. So First five General is a state wide program
that was that is funded off of a tobacco tax
that was passed in nineteen ninety eight. So the money
from that tag passed by the voters, I should say
it is on ballot, it passed. That money goes to
the State Commission Verse five California, and they do what
(05:18):
they do with twenty percent of the money and they
distribute the rest to the fifty eight counties in California
depending on how many live births there are in that county.
Oh wow, Sam, Bernardino County is we toggle between fourth
and fifth, but we're one of the larger counties, so
(05:38):
we get them among the most money because we have
so many kids here. So that's not to do with
how much people smoke here, which is a lot of people.
A lot of people think like, wow, that's a lot
of money. You should have a lot of people that
smoke there. It's no, that's not it. It's the kids.
But we always we always say we don't want you
(05:58):
to smoke the cigarettes. We just want you to buy
them so anyway, so that might be money, we're able
to use that money for all things children zero to
five and the real idea is to get them ready
for the K through twelve system, and not just in
terms of education. That is something that we concentrate on
the importance of early literacy and reading with your parents
(06:22):
and bodying and that and thing. But also we do
a lot of work around children's health to make sure
that they're in a stable health situation. So we work
with asthma. There's asthma is a prevalent problem.
Speaker 5 (06:35):
Here in San Britido.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Yes, yes, for reasons I could explain on another podcast,
but yeah, so we do a lot of health stuff,
but then we do a lot of family supports that
child abuse prevention and working with families to stabilize them
so that by the time the kid gets to to kindergarten,
they're just ready to go. They're ready to learn and
in a good place. And that's really that's really the
(06:58):
spirit of first five.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Yeah, and the first five obviously meaning zero through five
years old.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
The first five, oh you mentioned between the spirit is
there's not a lot of resources available, or at least
the parents are able to navigate before they get into
that K through twelve system. So once they get into
K through twelve, you know, they're connected to the school
and that kind of thing, and they can navigate what
resources are available, but they're kind of on their own
(07:26):
up until that point. And so First five was created
to be kind of that I don't know if I
call it a bridge, what is it? Yeah, you need
to get somewhere, but to get parents to understand how
important these years are and to get them the resources
that they need to be able to get their kids
at a good place for school.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
I was thinking that too.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
When you first have a baby, there's all this stuff.
There's all this stuff, right, it's oh the baby, you
got to do this. You get to vaccinations, you got
to go all of the doctor visits, and you kind
of have the you're holding the hand of your doctor.
But then that kind of dwindles once the like early
stage vaccinations are kind of done. You're kind of like
out there just okay, what's next? What if this happens?
(08:12):
If what age am I supposed to start doing this?
When am I supposed to start implementing these things, and
even more so for a first time parent.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
I remember feeling that way.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
And you have a doctor. I mean, as great as
the pediatrician is, they're typically looking at growth and health
and that kind of thing, but they're not looking at
this other stuff.
Speaker 5 (08:31):
Like, yeah, early learning and that kind of thing.
Speaker 4 (08:34):
Although I have to say one of our initiatives is
very much directed exactly to that, as getting pediatricians to
demonstrate to the parents how important reading to the kid
is and they get a book at the end. But
that's another program problem. Yeah, yeah, but yeah, yeah, those
first five years can be very overwhelming. You said that
you get a lot of stuff, but one thing you
(08:56):
don't get asleep.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
So, you know, try trying to.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
Navigate these systems when you're just in blosses, especially if
you have first time kids and then this postpartum depression
we deal what we deal with all that stuff, just
all these new parents and yeah, very overwhelming time, but uh,
we try to help them.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Yeah, No, I love that. That's what's what's so wonderful
about your organization. I think back to just having my
own kids and how that that kind of trickle down
effect I knew by my third child. Oh, I really
need to be working on this, this, this, you know.
But that first one, I was like, uh, am I
doing anything right?
Speaker 2 (09:31):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
Yeah, you're bringing me back. I remember that was just
a time.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
That was the time. Are you Are you going to
be alive? That's all. That's all I'm asking, just be
alive in the morning.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
And I remember like everybody giving us the books and
the you know what to expect, and then it's like
this this, and I'm like, I this is too much.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
I don't understand this.
Speaker 4 (09:53):
It's just like I don't have time to read. I'm
so tired.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
I'm so tired.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
No.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Reading was a a big part, I feel like of
my kids upbringing, Like we were always reading, which I'm
so grateful for because we kind of just did it
without really knowing, and I am now able to say
it helped my children tremendously, Like through the rest of
their life. They loved reading big avid storytellers, big vocabularies,
(10:21):
and I think that that's where that all starts from,
right with just those little books goofing around making funny
voices and all of that stuff.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
So you remember when they it was such a mile
soon when they started reading the books to you like,
this is what I'm talking about? Why, I like, you
just watched this this growth that they have and pretty
do you remember? I'm sure we've all done it because
we're tired, we're trying to get through the book. So
you skip a page and the kid on purpose of that,
your kids like, dahn, you skip that page back there.
I'm like, come on, anybody listening, I know you've done it.
Speaker 5 (10:51):
Don't act like, yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
We all have, we've all done it. Oh it's worse.
That's the worst. You know. It was funny.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
I remember when my kids started reading street signs and
I was like, oh my gosh, they read that. And
then I started thinking to myself, what are we driving by? Well,
is there anything that I need to like make.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
Because they're going to read it.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
They're going to say, well, what are the billboards saying? Now,
I'm like, do I need to be careful?
Speaker 2 (11:18):
But where I drive? I'm like, I don't know. I
just my head was all spinning about it.
Speaker 5 (11:22):
But we don't want to break them.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
No, we don't know. I actually remember too doing that
when I was a kid, Like all of a sudden,
things clicked and you're like I can read all the
things around me.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
This is just so crazy.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
But again, that's what I love.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
When you see that click and the kid that they did,
that's what that's what it makes us jobs so great,
it really is.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
It's such a cool thing. Kids are great.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Okay, So let's talk about your new campaign. Well it's
not so new because I remember being a part of
it last year, which was really really cool. February is
National Children's Dental Month, and I know First five is
continuing to promote it's Little Teeth, Big Responsibility campaign. Why
is it so important for us to be taking care
(12:05):
of our little ones dental health?
Speaker 5 (12:07):
Yeah, so this is the time of year we're in.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
We're in Little Teeth, Big Responsibility land right now, as
we say, this is actually our.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
Fourth year, four year.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Oh that's so cool, and.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Yeah, it's the message is really important and actually this
is we do a lot of messages throughout, but this
is the one I feel like really lands with people
in the category of oh I did not know that,
and I love that. It just our message is basically
that oral health is not just dirty teeth. It affects
your entire health, your overall health. So those toxins that
(12:44):
build up with decay and that kind of thing go
into your bloodstream and cause problems at times, so it's
really important to take care of them. The other message
that I like to emphasize, it's just really important to
get started early with kids onto oral health because it
builds those habits. So we all you know, I don't.
(13:05):
Everybody's had the experience where you get into bed and
then your eyes shoot wide open. You go, oh my gosh,
I didn't brush my teeth. I can't sleep. You know,
it's like habit, we have to do that. So you
try to develop those kids by teaching them those habits
and getting them used to that routine of doing it
twice a day every day, once in the morning, once
of the night, whenever whatever time makes sense, preferably for
a bed, and then getting them again kind of like
(13:27):
the reading thing, to the point where they're reminding you
it's time to brush my teeth. That's when you know
you got there right. It's really important to notice or
to know in this campaign that we really stress that
baby teeth are very important. What we hear from a
lot of parents, and I'm just going to confess that
(13:48):
I was one of these parents. With my first daughter. Oh,
I thought, and a lot.
Speaker 5 (13:52):
Of people think that baby teeth, what's the big deal?
Speaker 4 (13:54):
They're going to fall out anyway.
Speaker 5 (13:57):
Yeah, they're going to fall out anyway, so what's the
big deal?
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Doesn't matter so much. We didn't even take my daughter
to the dentist, I'm embarrassed to say, until she was
fine because we didn't think it was that big of
a deal. So was my first child. So it's this
really part that people understand that taking care of those
baby teeth again, back to the habits, back to the
oral health effects overall health. But also it's just it's
(14:21):
a smile, right, I mean, if there's anything more beautiful
than a smile on a child, a pretty smile, Yeah,
I don't know what it is. So yeah, it's really
important and people need to understand that the falling out
is not like a snake shedding their old skin and
bring you know, it's an important part of learning how
(14:42):
to chew and all of that kind of stuff. You
got to take care of those teeth. So that's that's
basically the message behind it all.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
You know, I was I would probably be one of
those parents too, except I had a dentist who knew
when I was pregnant, and he told me, you better
bring that baby in. He her to me as soon
as soon as they're when it won eighteen months too.
Let's just get her in here and let's and let's see,
(15:08):
let's just check her out. And yeah, doctor Finaso and
Fontana love him, but yeah, he he was very much
about Evelyn. Bring bring her in, Like I got to
look at her little little teeth, and you know, we
made fun and had fun about it, and you know,
it's the first dental visit is almost really fun because
(15:29):
it gets your baby used to that other people poking
around in their mouths, and it normalizes, Hey, we're gonna
go do this and you'll get a sticker out of
the little treasure box.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
A really good point you're bringing up of why this
is so important to do this messaging in the beginning
is getting kids used to being comfortable at the dentists because, yeah,
you experience is scary and why why am I open
my mouth?
Speaker 5 (15:55):
Oh my gosh, she's putting this finger in my mouth.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
And that's funny. It's got that glove getting them U
saw that and knowing that that's a good thing for them. Yeah,
That's a very important point.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Because there's so many adults.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
You and I know how many adults that are so
afraid of the dentists to this day.
Speaker 5 (16:11):
Well, I would consider myself one of them.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
I don't like, I don't know if I'm afraid as
much as I just can't stand it. So I also
have been taught and habitualized to know that, yeah, it's
not the funnest experience, but it's something that you really
need to do. But you know, with kids, you try
to make it like it is a fun experience, has
been right.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Kids respond to that absolutely well.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
So how can parents and caregivers practice healthy oral care
with their children starting right now?
Speaker 5 (16:41):
Yeah, starting immediately.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
You know, there's probably I don't know if you use
them or if you remember, but there's products that it's
like a gel that you can re on their on
their gums even before teeth come in, just to just
to their gums and to stimulate the gums and that
kind of thing to bring in healthy teeth.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
All that stuff is really important.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
So that that's the first thing you could do, just
one of their babies, and then.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
And it cleans out their mouth and that kind of thing.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
And then once the first tooth comes in, you know,
you see that little white shiny thing coming in, that's
when it's time to take them to the dentists. First
of all, sour our message is when you see the
first tooth or on their after their first birthday, whichever
comes first. Okay, teeth, but they're one taken to the dentists,
(17:28):
and that's when you will begin brushing at least that
tooth and doing what you follow the dentist's instructions at
that point of how to take how to take care
of the teeth. But yeah, right from the beginning, you
can start taking care of their teeth or lack of
teeth or gums or mouth.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
No, beautiful, beautifully said I think I took her in
to my first one because that was kind of like
where we were.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
But you're right right as soon as that little that little,
beautiful little.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Tooth and all of the wonderful things about teething is
how one.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
Part of our message that we don't say is that
when the kids get to the point that they're losing
their teeth, have a lot of one dollar bills around,
because otherwise you end up leaving them twenty dollars bills.
I can't stress that enough because I thought anyway, but
some time here.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Might as well put it out there.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
PSA, no, no, you're you're not wrong. I remember with
my of course, with my dentist, I was lucky I
had a dentist already. I knew he was telling me
all of the messaging. But for someone who maybe isn't
a regular to a dentist, what is the best way
for them to find one?
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Is?
Speaker 1 (18:40):
I know there's children's dentists and there's family dentists. What's
the best way for someone to find a dentist for
their new baby.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
Well, I think word, apart from the punt, word of
mouth is probably the best way because if you have
a neighbor or a family member that says, I love
my dentist, Yeah, it's terrific with my kids and that
kind of thing, that's that's the best way because then
the dentists to know the family, and you know, I
just I think that's the best way to know the community.
I mean, yeah, So that that's one thing. If short
(19:09):
of that, if you just don't have that type of
connectivity and you don't have anybody to go to, there's
a terrific website it's our The county's Department of Public
Health has a unit called Smile SBC and they have
a terrific website Smile SBC dot org, and they can
there are actual referrals for dentists on that website, but
(19:31):
if those referrals don't work for you, you can always call them.
The numbers on there it's one eight hundred and seventy
eight two four two sixty four if anybody needs that.
And as for a resource, and where do I go?
I live here. Transportation is a huge thing in our
county that people have difficulty managing transportation, especially with little ones.
(19:53):
So sometimes you need a dentist that's within walking distance
of your of your house, and so it could be
that specific I need somebody that's within a one mile
radius of where I live, which is right here. SMILESBC
can help you with that kind of thing. We can
help here at first five seven, and you know you
can always call us. We have a lot of resources
nine oh nine three eight six seven seven zero six,
(20:16):
and we'd be glad to help to you and give
you a referral. But I will say that most likely
the referral we're going to give is Smile SBC. So
I would recommend calling this after you call them and say,
you know it didn't pan out with them, is there
anything you can do and see if we can get.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
You somewhere fantastic.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
I'll put all of these resources in the show notes,
so if anybody needs them, they can easily go and
click or call those numbers. So what's a fun way
for a family to incorporate this oral care message every day?
Speaker 2 (20:48):
A daily routine?
Speaker 4 (20:49):
Like?
Speaker 2 (20:49):
How should we begin with that?
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (20:53):
Well, how how you begin? I guess is with planning,
Like so with everything else with yeah, with everything else
with parents that it's planning night planning such a hypogrim
because there was so much of the planning that there wasn't.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
But we all fail a little at all these things.
I mean we can't win.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
Shut them over the finish line though, But you know,
if you make a plan, how, okay, this is important
that my child understands that it's important. Let's go back
to that twice a day every day. How are we
going to do that? So if you attach a little
song to it, maybe you're a little routine.
Speaker 5 (21:28):
You know, some parents might.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
Do a reward or something if you remember to brush
your teeth without me telling you. Then you get whatever
that might be, an extra ten minutes of screen time
or whatever, whatever that might be, So that that's something.
But really, however, it is that you can get there,
to get the child to be in that habit to
say it's time to brush my teeth, then that's just
one of those things that's like tie in shoes or
riding a biker when they get older, teaching them how
(21:51):
to drive. Don't know if you're there yet, but it's
just one of those things that you can kind of
write off as we did that. Yeah, you know that,
they know that. Now I don't have to do that
anymore and be on top of that. So yeah, whatever
you can do to get there. And every family and
every child's different, so what works for some kids might
not work for others. Just play around and see what works.
But the goal is to get there.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Yeah. No, I love that.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
And it's it's fun because if you get that routine going,
Let's say your child needs braces later, they'll get the
routine of putting on the retainer every night and those
kinds of things. Right, Okay, this is my next step.
I brush my teeth, I put my retainer in it's
all of those things that you kind of don't even
have to say anymore. They understand this is our routine,
(22:35):
this is how I keep my teeth pretty, This is
how that works.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
How does somebody go about finding the right toothbrush for
their child? And I'm gonna ask that question because I
don't even know if I'm using the right toothbrush in this.
Speaker 4 (22:52):
I mean, the the only thing to remember with kids
is that our toothbrush. Adult toothbrushes would be a harsh
for a little kid. They're more bristly, they're a little big,
you know, the stick in their mouth and that kind
of thing. So there are toothbrushes specifically made for children
little kids. At some point they won't graduate to an
(23:13):
adult toothbrush, probably before they actually are an adult. But
when they're little, there's actual little toothbrushes with really soft
bristles on it that's recommended to use. And they're very expensive, inexpensive.
You can find them in you know, Target, Walmart anywhere.
But that being said, I try to stay away from
(23:35):
just leaving it at Well, it's inexpensive, so therefore problem solved. Ye, Yeah,
it's inexpensive. But it's more expensive than something that I
can afford. My recommendation if you're in that situation is
either talk to your dentist about getting a free when
they didists give out toothbrushes all the time, or again
calling Smile SBC or even First five to say, hey, listen,
(23:56):
I need a kid's toothbrush. I don't know where to
get one this month. We always have a ton of toothbrushes, yeah,
available for instance. So yeah, there's free ones out there
if you'd rather or if you just don't want to
pay for it, you want a free one work, Yeah,
more than happy.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
To get a free one, just like that. Okay, so
how can people learn more about your campaign about little Teeth,
Big Responsibility?
Speaker 4 (24:17):
So I'd already given you the the the Smiles SBC website,
the Smile SBC dot org, and you said you put
it in the show notes. Thank you. You can also
go to our website which is first five samonn Adina,
that's first spelled out five the number Sam Bordandina dot
org and we have a whole section devoted to this campaign,
(24:38):
so you can learn more about that.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Okay, No, that's that's perfect. Before I let you go.
You've given us so much information. I love it and
I think it's going to help a ton of families
here in the Inland Empire. What would be your three
key takeaways for.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Anybody listening right now? What are the three things everyone
should know?
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Let's see. So the big takeaway that we've done our
job is if people understand that oral health affects your
overall health. That's just really important to know. People don't
know that. They think it's just the mouth, what's the
big deal. Yeah, the most important thing that you can
do is the habits thing that we've talked a lot about.
Just getting those habits established and just knowing that tooth
(25:22):
decay is chronic among children. I didn't mention that sixty
percent of kindergarteners have some form of tooth decay, which
is really kind of an epidemic.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
It's it's something that is a problem address.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
Yeah, and it's been said by some studies that the
number one reason the kids miss school is because of
oral health stuff. Really, to remember what we talked about
with the overall health. So it's not just I have
a toothache, it's I'm sick today, and the reason you're
sick it's because poor oral health. So those three things
(25:54):
I think are probably the takeaways that I want to
make sure people understand. If you get nothing else out
of this podcast, audience, and please take that with you.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Oh No, valuable, so valuable. That net number is crazy.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
When I remember when I heard that the first time,
I was like, oh my gosh, that's a huge problem.
Speaker 4 (26:11):
Yeah, over half over half, and yeah, it's a problem.
So that's what it's all about. That's what this works. Yeah,
bilas BC is.
Speaker 5 (26:19):
That's really their their mission is to get that number down.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Absolutely, and you're doing great work. Thank you so very much, Scott.
I appreciate you joining us on the pod today. I
hope that we get all this knowledge out there and
everybody can come back and find it if you need
any of those links, they're all in the description for
the pod today.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
And thank you again.
Speaker 5 (26:41):
Anytime, Elan. Thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 4 (26:44):
I enjoyed it.
Hi, Welcome to another episode of Covering your Health. With
that one, Mariva is presented by my amazing partners. I EhP,
we're back with another super informative podcast. I think you're
gonna just get a ton of information about I know
I say that every week, I really do every episode,
but really that's what this is all about.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
It's about education.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Maybe there's a little a few things in each episode
that you just didn't know anything about and you can
take home with you, maybe take to a friend. And
with this particular episode, I feel like everybody will benefit
because well, everyone has teeth and that's just the truth.
And this organization is doing a whole bunch of good
(00:45):
right here in Sambarnandino County.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
It's verse five.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Sam Bernardino last year was actually able to be a
part of their campaign Little Teeth, Big Responsibility, which really
encourages parents to start their child's dental care right for
the start, right from the start. I'm talking about less
than one year old. As you know, and I'm a mom.
Sometimes getting the kids to even get in the shower
(01:10):
or bath or anything is a challenge right let alone
getting them to learn how to brush their teeth and
all of those things. So we're gonna learn a lot.
We're gonna learn how we can implement those routines. We're
gonna make it fine, We're gonna find ways, and we're
gonna learn why it is so so important to be
starting that oral care so early. Today I am joined
(01:31):
by Scott McGrath, the current Deputy of Systems and Impact
for First five San Bernardino, who's gonna walk us through
the importance of this campaign and all of the great
work that First five Sabernandino is doing throughout the county,
and really just so much more.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Let's get started.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Welcome to Covering Your Health, a wellness podcast dedicated to
covering all areas of living a healthy and happy lifestyle,
from healthy hearts to understanding health plans and everything in between.
Each episode will provide you with a better understanding of
managing your health, preventative care, and staying on the.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Right path for your family's wellness journey.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
The Covering Your Health podcast is presented by I e HP.
Now your host, Evelina Revez.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Welcome, Scott, how are you great?
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Evelin? How are you today?
Speaker 1 (02:22):
I'm really good. I'm so happy to have you here.
Well on zoom, even thank you. I want to start.
I always start all the podcasts with getting to know
our guests a little bit further beyond their profession. How
did you find yourself in the line of work that
you're in now?
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Oh gosh. Lots of twists and turns, but always with
the theme of helping out kids. Even in high school, I
knew I wanted to work with kids.
Speaker 5 (02:52):
I went to college to put myself in a position
that I can do that.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
I was a social worker for many years working with
foster kids. I worked at a school before that for
kids with severe emotional disturbance, of many of which were
foster kids. Worked with alumni of the foster care system
for quite a while, people who had left the fostercare
system and needed help getting on their feet and that
kind of thing.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
Yeah, some mental health work.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
Again, mostly I got assigned foster kids to work with
because everybody knew that was my gig. And then I
ended up over here at First Five, which is different
in terms of foster kids, but it's still kids, so.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
It is it very much is.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
I've worked with First five for many, many years now
on various campaigns throughout my career with iHeartRadio and i've
been you know, I'm in AWE. It's a very great
organization and it's really cool. So you you found yourself
knowing you wanted to work with kids at a very
young age.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
What do you think that was? You just loved kids
when you were young.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
Yeah. I have always always loved kids. I love being
around them, I love talking to them. I loved watching
them grow and change. Yeah, I've just always loved kids,
even before I have my own kids, and my kids
are in their twenties now and I've got that experience
looking forward to grandkids not yet, but that's going to
be good.
Speaker 5 (04:12):
I just kinds have always been my thing.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
I just love kids.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
I feel like the same thing.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
I don't think if I was not a radio personality,
I would be working with children of some sort.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
I just think the same exact thing.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
My first job was actually Radio Disney in radio, so
it was all about the kids, right. It was all
about how much fun we can have, how many smiles
we can make, and that was my favorite.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
If I was going to be in broadcasting, I'd be
doing something like that.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Yeah, exactly. Well let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Obviously, you have worked with you said since twenty ten
you've been with First five.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
So for those that are unfamiliar with the organization, will
you tell us a little bit about Verse five and
what you do for the community.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Sure. So First five General is a state wide program
that was that is funded off of a tobacco tax
that was passed in nineteen ninety eight. So the money
from that tag passed by the voters, I should say
it is on ballot, it passed. That money goes to
the State Commission Verse five California, and they do what
(05:18):
they do with twenty percent of the money and they
distribute the rest to the fifty eight counties in California
depending on how many live births there are in that county.
Oh wow, Sam, Bernardino County is we toggle between fourth
and fifth, but we're one of the larger counties, so
(05:38):
we get them among the most money because we have
so many kids here. So that's not to do with
how much people smoke here, which is a lot of people.
A lot of people think like, wow, that's a lot
of money. You should have a lot of people that
smoke there. It's no, that's not it. It's the kids.
But we always we always say we don't want you
(05:58):
to smoke the cigarettes. We just want you to buy
them so anyway, so that might be money, we're able
to use that money for all things children zero to
five and the real idea is to get them ready
for the K through twelve system, and not just in
terms of education. That is something that we concentrate on
the importance of early literacy and reading with your parents
(06:22):
and bodying and that and thing. But also we do
a lot of work around children's health to make sure
that they're in a stable health situation. So we work
with asthma. There's asthma is a prevalent problem.
Speaker 5 (06:35):
Here in San Britido.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Yes, yes, for reasons I could explain on another podcast,
but yeah, so we do a lot of health stuff,
but then we do a lot of family supports that
child abuse prevention and working with families to stabilize them
so that by the time the kid gets to to kindergarten,
they're just ready to go. They're ready to learn and
in a good place. And that's really that's really the
(06:58):
spirit of first five.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Yeah, and the first five obviously meaning zero through five
years old.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
The first five, oh you mentioned between the spirit is
there's not a lot of resources available, or at least
the parents are able to navigate before they get into
that K through twelve system. So once they get into
K through twelve, you know, they're connected to the school
and that kind of thing, and they can navigate what
resources are available, but they're kind of on their own
(07:26):
up until that point. And so First five was created
to be kind of that I don't know if I
call it a bridge, what is it? Yeah, you need
to get somewhere, but to get parents to understand how
important these years are and to get them the resources
that they need to be able to get their kids
at a good place for school.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
I was thinking that too.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
When you first have a baby, there's all this stuff.
There's all this stuff, right, it's oh the baby, you
got to do this. You get to vaccinations, you got
to go all of the doctor visits, and you kind
of have the you're holding the hand of your doctor.
But then that kind of dwindles once the like early
stage vaccinations are kind of done. You're kind of like
out there just okay, what's next? What if this happens?
(08:12):
If what age am I supposed to start doing this?
When am I supposed to start implementing these things, and
even more so for a first time parent.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
I remember feeling that way.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
And you have a doctor. I mean, as great as
the pediatrician is, they're typically looking at growth and health
and that kind of thing, but they're not looking at
this other stuff.
Speaker 5 (08:31):
Like, yeah, early learning and that kind of thing.
Speaker 4 (08:34):
Although I have to say one of our initiatives is
very much directed exactly to that, as getting pediatricians to
demonstrate to the parents how important reading to the kid
is and they get a book at the end. But
that's another program problem. Yeah, yeah, but yeah, yeah, those
first five years can be very overwhelming. You said that
you get a lot of stuff, but one thing you
(08:56):
don't get asleep.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
So, you know, try trying to.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
Navigate these systems when you're just in blosses, especially if
you have first time kids and then this postpartum depression
we deal what we deal with all that stuff, just
all these new parents and yeah, very overwhelming time, but uh,
we try to help them.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Yeah, No, I love that. That's what's what's so wonderful
about your organization. I think back to just having my
own kids and how that that kind of trickle down
effect I knew by my third child. Oh, I really
need to be working on this, this, this, you know.
But that first one, I was like, uh, am I
doing anything right?
Speaker 2 (09:31):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
Yeah, you're bringing me back. I remember that was just
a time.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
That was the time. Are you Are you going to
be alive? That's all. That's all I'm asking, just be
alive in the morning.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
And I remember like everybody giving us the books and
the you know what to expect, and then it's like
this this, and I'm like, I this is too much.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
I don't understand this.
Speaker 4 (09:53):
It's just like I don't have time to read. I'm
so tired.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
I'm so tired.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
No.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Reading was a a big part, I feel like of
my kids upbringing, Like we were always reading, which I'm
so grateful for because we kind of just did it
without really knowing, and I am now able to say
it helped my children tremendously, Like through the rest of
their life. They loved reading big avid storytellers, big vocabularies,
(10:21):
and I think that that's where that all starts from,
right with just those little books goofing around making funny
voices and all of that stuff.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
So you remember when they it was such a mile
soon when they started reading the books to you like,
this is what I'm talking about? Why, I like, you
just watched this this growth that they have and pretty
do you remember? I'm sure we've all done it because
we're tired, we're trying to get through the book. So
you skip a page and the kid on purpose of that,
your kids like, dahn, you skip that page back there.
I'm like, come on, anybody listening, I know you've done it.
Speaker 5 (10:51):
Don't act like, yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
We all have, we've all done it. Oh it's worse.
That's the worst. You know. It was funny.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
I remember when my kids started reading street signs and
I was like, oh my gosh, they read that. And
then I started thinking to myself, what are we driving by? Well,
is there anything that I need to like make.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
Because they're going to read it.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
They're going to say, well, what are the billboards saying? Now,
I'm like, do I need to be careful?
Speaker 2 (11:18):
But where I drive? I'm like, I don't know. I
just my head was all spinning about it.
Speaker 5 (11:22):
But we don't want to break them.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
No, we don't know. I actually remember too doing that
when I was a kid, Like all of a sudden,
things clicked and you're like I can read all the
things around me.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
This is just so crazy.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
But again, that's what I love.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
When you see that click and the kid that they did,
that's what that's what it makes us jobs so great,
it really is.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
It's such a cool thing. Kids are great.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Okay, So let's talk about your new campaign. Well it's
not so new because I remember being a part of
it last year, which was really really cool. February is
National Children's Dental Month, and I know First five is
continuing to promote it's Little Teeth, Big Responsibility campaign. Why
is it so important for us to be taking care
(12:05):
of our little ones dental health?
Speaker 5 (12:07):
Yeah, so this is the time of year we're in.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
We're in Little Teeth, Big Responsibility land right now, as
we say, this is actually our.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
Fourth year, four year.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Oh that's so cool, and.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Yeah, it's the message is really important and actually this
is we do a lot of messages throughout, but this
is the one I feel like really lands with people
in the category of oh I did not know that,
and I love that. It just our message is basically
that oral health is not just dirty teeth. It affects
your entire health, your overall health. So those toxins that
(12:44):
build up with decay and that kind of thing go
into your bloodstream and cause problems at times, so it's
really important to take care of them. The other message
that I like to emphasize, it's just really important to
get started early with kids onto oral health because it
builds those habits. So we all you know, I don't.
(13:05):
Everybody's had the experience where you get into bed and
then your eyes shoot wide open. You go, oh my gosh,
I didn't brush my teeth. I can't sleep. You know,
it's like habit, we have to do that. So you
try to develop those kids by teaching them those habits
and getting them used to that routine of doing it
twice a day every day, once in the morning, once
of the night, whenever whatever time makes sense, preferably for
a bed, and then getting them again kind of like
(13:27):
the reading thing, to the point where they're reminding you
it's time to brush my teeth. That's when you know
you got there right. It's really important to notice or
to know in this campaign that we really stress that
baby teeth are very important. What we hear from a
lot of parents, and I'm just going to confess that
(13:48):
I was one of these parents. With my first daughter. Oh,
I thought, and a lot.
Speaker 5 (13:52):
Of people think that baby teeth, what's the big deal?
Speaker 4 (13:54):
They're going to fall out anyway.
Speaker 5 (13:57):
Yeah, they're going to fall out anyway, so what's the
big deal?
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Doesn't matter so much. We didn't even take my daughter
to the dentist, I'm embarrassed to say, until she was
fine because we didn't think it was that big of
a deal. So was my first child. So it's this
really part that people understand that taking care of those
baby teeth again, back to the habits, back to the
oral health effects overall health. But also it's just it's
(14:21):
a smile, right, I mean, if there's anything more beautiful
than a smile on a child, a pretty smile, Yeah,
I don't know what it is. So yeah, it's really
important and people need to understand that the falling out
is not like a snake shedding their old skin and
bring you know, it's an important part of learning how
(14:42):
to chew and all of that kind of stuff. You
got to take care of those teeth. So that's that's
basically the message behind it all.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
You know, I was I would probably be one of
those parents too, except I had a dentist who knew
when I was pregnant, and he told me, you better
bring that baby in. He her to me as soon
as soon as they're when it won eighteen months too.
Let's just get her in here and let's and let's see,
(15:08):
let's just check her out. And yeah, doctor Finaso and
Fontana love him, but yeah, he he was very much
about Evelyn. Bring bring her in, Like I got to
look at her little little teeth, and you know, we
made fun and had fun about it, and you know,
it's the first dental visit is almost really fun because
(15:29):
it gets your baby used to that other people poking
around in their mouths, and it normalizes, Hey, we're gonna
go do this and you'll get a sticker out of
the little treasure box.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
A really good point you're bringing up of why this
is so important to do this messaging in the beginning
is getting kids used to being comfortable at the dentists because, yeah,
you experience is scary and why why am I open
my mouth?
Speaker 5 (15:55):
Oh my gosh, she's putting this finger in my mouth.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
And that's funny. It's got that glove getting them U
saw that and knowing that that's a good thing for them. Yeah,
That's a very important point.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Because there's so many adults.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
You and I know how many adults that are so
afraid of the dentists to this day.
Speaker 5 (16:11):
Well, I would consider myself one of them.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
I don't like, I don't know if I'm afraid as
much as I just can't stand it. So I also
have been taught and habitualized to know that, yeah, it's
not the funnest experience, but it's something that you really
need to do. But you know, with kids, you try
to make it like it is a fun experience, has
been right.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Kids respond to that absolutely well.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
So how can parents and caregivers practice healthy oral care
with their children starting right now?
Speaker 5 (16:41):
Yeah, starting immediately.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
You know, there's probably I don't know if you use
them or if you remember, but there's products that it's
like a gel that you can re on their on
their gums even before teeth come in, just to just
to their gums and to stimulate the gums and that
kind of thing to bring in healthy teeth.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
All that stuff is really important.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
So that that's the first thing you could do, just
one of their babies, and then.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
And it cleans out their mouth and that kind of thing.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
And then once the first tooth comes in, you know,
you see that little white shiny thing coming in, that's
when it's time to take them to the dentists. First
of all, sour our message is when you see the
first tooth or on their after their first birthday, whichever
comes first. Okay, teeth, but they're one taken to the dentists,
(17:28):
and that's when you will begin brushing at least that
tooth and doing what you follow the dentist's instructions at
that point of how to take how to take care
of the teeth. But yeah, right from the beginning, you
can start taking care of their teeth or lack of
teeth or gums or mouth.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
No, beautiful, beautifully said I think I took her in
to my first one because that was kind of like
where we were.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
But you're right right as soon as that little that little,
beautiful little.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Tooth and all of the wonderful things about teething is
how one.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
Part of our message that we don't say is that
when the kids get to the point that they're losing
their teeth, have a lot of one dollar bills around,
because otherwise you end up leaving them twenty dollars bills.
I can't stress that enough because I thought anyway, but
some time here.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Might as well put it out there.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
PSA, no, no, you're you're not wrong. I remember with
my of course, with my dentist, I was lucky I
had a dentist already. I knew he was telling me
all of the messaging. But for someone who maybe isn't
a regular to a dentist, what is the best way
for them to find one?
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Is?
Speaker 1 (18:40):
I know there's children's dentists and there's family dentists. What's
the best way for someone to find a dentist for
their new baby.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
Well, I think word, apart from the punt, word of
mouth is probably the best way because if you have
a neighbor or a family member that says, I love
my dentist, Yeah, it's terrific with my kids and that
kind of thing, that's that's the best way because then
the dentists to know the family, and you know, I
just I think that's the best way to know the community.
I mean, yeah, So that that's one thing. If short
(19:09):
of that, if you just don't have that type of
connectivity and you don't have anybody to go to, there's
a terrific website it's our The county's Department of Public
Health has a unit called Smile SBC and they have
a terrific website Smile SBC dot org, and they can
there are actual referrals for dentists on that website, but
(19:31):
if those referrals don't work for you, you can always call them.
The numbers on there it's one eight hundred and seventy
eight two four two sixty four if anybody needs that.
And as for a resource, and where do I go?
I live here. Transportation is a huge thing in our
county that people have difficulty managing transportation, especially with little ones.
(19:53):
So sometimes you need a dentist that's within walking distance
of your of your house, and so it could be
that specific I need somebody that's within a one mile
radius of where I live, which is right here. SMILESBC
can help you with that kind of thing. We can
help here at first five seven, and you know you
can always call us. We have a lot of resources
nine oh nine three eight six seven seven zero six,
(20:16):
and we'd be glad to help to you and give
you a referral. But I will say that most likely
the referral we're going to give is Smile SBC. So
I would recommend calling this after you call them and say,
you know it didn't pan out with them, is there
anything you can do and see if we can get.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
You somewhere fantastic.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
I'll put all of these resources in the show notes,
so if anybody needs them, they can easily go and
click or call those numbers. So what's a fun way
for a family to incorporate this oral care message every day?
Speaker 2 (20:48):
A daily routine?
Speaker 4 (20:49):
Like?
Speaker 2 (20:49):
How should we begin with that?
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (20:53):
Well, how how you begin? I guess is with planning,
Like so with everything else with yeah, with everything else
with parents that it's planning night planning such a hypogrim
because there was so much of the planning that there wasn't.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
But we all fail a little at all these things.
I mean we can't win.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
Shut them over the finish line though, But you know,
if you make a plan, how, okay, this is important
that my child understands that it's important. Let's go back
to that twice a day every day. How are we
going to do that? So if you attach a little
song to it, maybe you're a little routine.
Speaker 5 (21:28):
You know, some parents might.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
Do a reward or something if you remember to brush
your teeth without me telling you. Then you get whatever
that might be, an extra ten minutes of screen time
or whatever, whatever that might be, So that that's something.
But really, however, it is that you can get there,
to get the child to be in that habit to
say it's time to brush my teeth, then that's just
one of those things that's like tie in shoes or
riding a biker when they get older, teaching them how
(21:51):
to drive. Don't know if you're there yet, but it's
just one of those things that you can kind of
write off as we did that. Yeah, you know that,
they know that. Now I don't have to do that
anymore and be on top of that. So yeah, whatever
you can do to get there. And every family and
every child's different, so what works for some kids might
not work for others. Just play around and see what works.
But the goal is to get there.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Yeah. No, I love that.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
And it's it's fun because if you get that routine going,
Let's say your child needs braces later, they'll get the
routine of putting on the retainer every night and those
kinds of things. Right, Okay, this is my next step.
I brush my teeth, I put my retainer in it's
all of those things that you kind of don't even
have to say anymore. They understand this is our routine,
(22:35):
this is how I keep my teeth pretty, This is
how that works.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
How does somebody go about finding the right toothbrush for
their child? And I'm gonna ask that question because I
don't even know if I'm using the right toothbrush in this.
Speaker 4 (22:52):
I mean, the the only thing to remember with kids
is that our toothbrush. Adult toothbrushes would be a harsh
for a little kid. They're more bristly, they're a little big,
you know, the stick in their mouth and that kind
of thing. So there are toothbrushes specifically made for children
little kids. At some point they won't graduate to an
(23:13):
adult toothbrush, probably before they actually are an adult. But
when they're little, there's actual little toothbrushes with really soft
bristles on it that's recommended to use. And they're very expensive, inexpensive.
You can find them in you know, Target, Walmart anywhere.
But that being said, I try to stay away from
(23:35):
just leaving it at Well, it's inexpensive, so therefore problem solved. Ye, Yeah,
it's inexpensive. But it's more expensive than something that I
can afford. My recommendation if you're in that situation is
either talk to your dentist about getting a free when
they didists give out toothbrushes all the time, or again
calling Smile SBC or even First five to say, hey, listen,
(23:56):
I need a kid's toothbrush. I don't know where to
get one this month. We always have a ton of toothbrushes, yeah,
available for instance. So yeah, there's free ones out there
if you'd rather or if you just don't want to
pay for it, you want a free one work, Yeah,
more than happy.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
To get a free one, just like that. Okay, so
how can people learn more about your campaign about little Teeth,
Big Responsibility?
Speaker 4 (24:17):
So I'd already given you the the the Smiles SBC website,
the Smile SBC dot org, and you said you put
it in the show notes. Thank you. You can also
go to our website which is first five samonn Adina,
that's first spelled out five the number Sam Bordandina dot
org and we have a whole section devoted to this campaign,
(24:38):
so you can learn more about that.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Okay, No, that's that's perfect. Before I let you go.
You've given us so much information. I love it and
I think it's going to help a ton of families
here in the Inland Empire. What would be your three
key takeaways for.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Anybody listening right now? What are the three things everyone
should know?
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Let's see. So the big takeaway that we've done our
job is if people understand that oral health affects your
overall health. That's just really important to know. People don't
know that. They think it's just the mouth, what's the
big deal. Yeah, the most important thing that you can
do is the habits thing that we've talked a lot about.
Just getting those habits established and just knowing that tooth
(25:22):
decay is chronic among children. I didn't mention that sixty
percent of kindergarteners have some form of tooth decay, which
is really kind of an epidemic.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
It's it's something that is a problem address.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
Yeah, and it's been said by some studies that the
number one reason the kids miss school is because of
oral health stuff. Really, to remember what we talked about
with the overall health. So it's not just I have
a toothache, it's I'm sick today, and the reason you're
sick it's because poor oral health. So those three things
(25:54):
I think are probably the takeaways that I want to
make sure people understand. If you get nothing else out
of this podcast, audience, and please take that with you.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Oh No, valuable, so valuable. That net number is crazy.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
When I remember when I heard that the first time,
I was like, oh my gosh, that's a huge problem.
Speaker 4 (26:11):
Yeah, over half over half, and yeah, it's a problem.
So that's what it's all about. That's what this works. Yeah,
bilas BC is.
Speaker 5 (26:19):
That's really their their mission is to get that number down.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Absolutely, and you're doing great work. Thank you so very much, Scott.
I appreciate you joining us on the pod today. I
hope that we get all this knowledge out there and
everybody can come back and find it if you need
any of those links, they're all in the description for
the pod today.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
And thank you again.
Speaker 5 (26:41):
Anytime, Elan. Thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 4 (26:44):
I enjoyed it.
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