News Release                              For Immediate Release

                                                                                                                         May 28, 2012

Grey Highlands Secondary School students learn to love their teeth

Students at Grey Highlands Secondary School in Flesherton will have the opportunity for free dental screening during the school’s Love Your Teeth Day, June 6. The Grey Bruce Health Unit will be hosting a dental screening day for high school students.

Registered dental hygienists will be available at the school throughout the day to provide free dental screening. Meeting with a hygienist provides an opportunity to reinforce good dental practices and, if needed, talk about next steps. These could include a referral to their family dentist, or for those with no dental coverage, a referral to one of the health unit’s dental programs.

Launched in 2010, Healthy Smiles Ontario provides no-cost preventive and dental treatment services to eligible children and youth 0-17 years. This program ensures children have regular visits with a dentist or dental hygienist. Fewer Grey Bruce residents have dental insurance when compared with the national average, putting the population at higher risk for unchecked dental decay.

The Grey Bruce Health Unit routinely completes dental surveillance as part of the Ontario Public Health Standards and has identified the Grey Highlands area as having a higher rate of decay. By discussing the importance of dental care and by completing a screening, public health hopes to highlight loving your teeth as part of a student’s daily life.

For more information on public health dental programs, contact the Grey Bruce Health Unit at 519-376-9420 or visit our website at www.publichealthgreybruce.on.ca.

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For more information:

Donna Clark

Dental Hygienist

Grey Bruce Health Unit

519-376-9420 or 1-800-263-3456 ext. 2233

d.clark@publichealthgreybruce.on.ca