CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Driscoll Health Plan has made a big investment in the oral health of Corpus Christi kids.
On Wednesday morning, they delivered a $7,000 check to Nueces County Community Action Agency.
The NCCAA operates 16 Head Start centers in Corpus Christi, and that's where the donation will be used. The money will fund displays at those centers that will educate children and their parents on the importance of oral health and hygiene.
Each display comes with educational literature and large dental models.
"So with these models, with this education, what we're looking to do is just expand the knowledge of the parents, learning oral hygiene, and learning to see how that connects with whole body wellness," Associate Dental Director for Driscoll Health Plan Carmen Martinez said.
Martinez also said that proper oral health care is key to overall health.
"We'll be educating the parents, the teachers, everybody involved so they know how to change habits at home," she said. "They're gonna feel more comfortable asking their dentist questions, making their visits, and that's our whole plan that we're expecting to see."
Head Start teachers will be at the forefront of this effort. They will receive dental hygiene educational kits, and once teachers learn about oral hygiene, they'll will share that knowledge with children and their parents.
"The whole idea of oral health is not just so you can brush your teeth and keep kids from getting cavities. It's about changing habits in the whole household," Martinez said. "So if we can get parents to pay more attention, we can get teachers to pay more attention to these little habits that they have, chocolate milk in sippy cups, maybe not brushing teeth, maybe just having one toothbrush for the whole family. If we can help change those habits, we will see a big change in health care overall."
Martinez said good oral health and hygiene is not all that complicated.
"Brush and floss y'all! It's just really what it comes down to," she said.
