FWSU Maintains Healthy Smiles with the Tooth Tutor Program

Vermont’s Tooth Tutor program helps to ensure that every child has access to preventive, restorative and continuous care in a dental office. Schools choose to participate in the Tooth Tutor Program.

A dental professional helps the school nurse update dental information in each child’s school health file, assisting families who currently do not have a dentist to find a dental home for their child/children and providing a free dental screening to these children upon request.

• Approximately half of all elementary schools in Vermont participate in the Tooth Tutor Program. All of our elementary schools in Franklin West Supervisory Union participate in the Tooth-Tutor Program.

• Most of the Tooth Tutors are funded through Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) funds but some are funded through grants and foundations.

Our student’s look forward to a visit from The Tooth Tutor, they are able to participate in a healthy oral health exercise in order to gain a greater understanding of proper teeth brushing and flossing.

Despite the reduction in cases of decay in recent years, nationally more than half of all children have cavities by the second grade, and by the time students finish high school, about 80 percent have cavities. Unless it is stopped early, dental decay is irreversible.

Tooth decay is the most common oral disease among children and the most common childhood chronic disease.  Children in Vermont generally fare well with regard to oral health and tooth decay compared to children in other states.  The Tooth Tutor program is happening in a FWSU school near you!   Healthy habits that will last a lifetime!