CDS to participate in mouthrinse program

In an effort to reduce tooth decay in our students, the CDS Elementary School will begin participating in a weekly fluoride mouthrinse program for grades kindergarten through fourth. Current research demonstrates that children who use this procedure may expect to have 20-50 percent fewer cavities.

The mouthrinse program is sponsored by the Missouri State Health Department’s Bureau of Dental Health, Daviess County Health Department, and Gallatin R-5 School District.

Water fluoridation and supplemental fluoride programs (i.e., mouth rinse programs) are the most effective and safe methods to combat tooth decay, the most prevalent chronic disease in our society.

Fluoride works in two says. First, while a child’s teeth are in the process of forming, fluoride contained in food and water is incorporated into the enamel of the developing teeth. This helps make the teeth more resistant to the attack of the bacterial acids that cause tooth decay. Second, when fluoride is applied to the surface of teeth, such as the mouth rinse program being conducted at the elementary school, the teeth become even more resistant to dental decay, and may actually reverse microscopic decay already in progress.

The students of CDS Elementary School are now among the nearly 120,000 Missouri school children currently participating in the fluoride mouthrinse program.