- Watch Your Mouth Massachusetts: The Watch Your Mouth Coalition Is Working In Massachusetts, New Hampshire And Maine To Make Children's Oral Health A Priority. Objectives of the Watch Your Mouth Coalition are to Educate the public that tooth decay is the most common childhood disease that can cause diminished school performance and poor overall health. WYM advocates for wider access to preventive services, such as dental sealants and fluoride, and regular dental exams for all children.
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Newsletter
Vol. 2, issue 6
July 2007
Intro
Happy July! The flowers are blooming and Watch Your Mouth is settling in to a nice summer rhythm. In this issue read about a creative new program that is being developed in Natick, a new monument to fluoride, and some great resources for oral health advocates and communicators.
New Oral Health Program in Natick
This fall, the Natick Service Council, with support of the MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation, will be starting an exciting new program called Supporting Smiles. This innovative program will provide access to dental services for low-income families in Natick who do not qualify for MassHealth.
Supporting Smiles hopes to work with local dentists to help increase provider participation in MassHealth. They will also fill the gap left by those who do not qualify for benefits by creating a type of coverage that families making up to 300% of the Federal Poverty Level can qualify for. It is anticipated that individuals making up to $29,400 and families of four making up to $60,000 may qualify for Supporting Smiles' dental coverage for the price of a co-pay.
We love the creative approach the Natick Service Council has taken to solving the problems that many communities face in accessing dental care! For more information, contact the Natick Service Council or MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation. Click here for more information: http://www.mynatick.org/servicecouncil/?page_id=27
Monument to Fluoride in Michigan
In the early 1900s Dr. Fred McKay, a dentist in Colorado Springs, noted that the teeth of many of his patients were exceptionally resistant to dental decay. Upon investigation of this phenomenon, Dr. McKay discovered high levels of naturally occurring fluoride in local water and concluded that fluoride increases resistance to dental decay.
In 1945, Grand Rapids, Michigan, became the first city in the nation to adjust the amount of fluoride in its water supply to the optimal level for reducing dental decay. In doing so, Grand Rapids became a national pioneer in community water fluoridation. To commemorate this momentous decision, Grand Rapids has constructed a monument to fluoride in their city center which will be unveiled this summer.
Community water fluoridation is considered by the Centers for Disease Control to be one of ten great public health achievements of the 20th Century, so we're happy to celebrate with Grand Rapids. In Massachusetts, just over 60% of the population enjoys community water fluoridation. We can do better than this! To find out what you can do to bring the health benefits of fluoridation to your community, contact Jaime Corliss at jcorliss@hcfama.org or 617-275-2801.
Essential Summer Reading for Advocates and Communicators
Each year, Andy Goodman's newsletter, Free Range Thinking, publishes their summer reading list and the books he recommends become staples for the WYM team. This year's books focus on becoming a better story teller, communicating about your issue more effectively, hosting better meetings and presentations, and e-mail etiquette.
- Made to Stick- Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath (Random House, 2007)
- Telling True Stories, by Mark Kramer and Wendy Call ( Plume, 2007)
- Beautiful Evidence, Edward Tufte (Graphics Press, LLC, 2006)
- Send- The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home, by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe (Alfred A. Knopf, 2007)
- The Art of Innovation, by Tom Kelley (Doubleday, 2001)
If you are interested in finding out more about the books listed or about A Goodman, click here. http://www.agoodmanonline.com/pdf/free-range_2007_07.pdf
Happy reading!
-Kate
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Watch Your Mouth Massachusetts is supported by grants from the Oral Health Foundation and Dental Services of Massachusetts.
Watch Your Mouth Coalition.
