Dental Hygienists Team with A-DES for Oral Health Initiative

Dental Hygienists and dental clinics throughout British Columbia are getting a new tool this month in the effort to promote oral health and combat the use of spit tobacco.

More than 2,000 posters, 600 CDs, and 5,400 brochures for “Straight Talk About Spit Tobacco and Oral Health” were delivered June 8 to the B.C.  Dental Hygienists’ Association, which will be distributing them province-wide.

The initiative is an outgrowth of A-DES’ original “Straight Talk About Spit Tobacco” program, which is a 16-minute video completed in 2007. The original “Straight Talk” is a prevention/cessation tool aimed at youth while the new version is for dental professionals.  It teaches them how to spot and address oral health problems related to the use of spit tobacco, as well as how to educate and help patients using “snuff.”

For more information about the hygienists’ organization, go to :www.bcdha.bc.ca

Denise Pulice (left) and Cindy Fletcher of the B.C. Dental Hygienists Association examine materials from the “Straight Talk About Spit Tobacco and Oral Health” program that will help dental professionals treat and combat health problems caused by spit tobacco. Thousands of posters, DVDs and pamphlets were delivered to them this week by the Alcohol-Drug Education Service and will be being distributed to dental clinics across the province. Fletcher is executive director of the BCDHA and Pulice is coordinator of member services.