By Brett Ashley Hawkins
Editorial Intern
Local schools and senior-living communities are reaping the benefits from the 2010 “Oral Healthcare Awareness Campaign” fronted by Long Beach’s David Cho, D.D.S. Cho’s dentistry firm launched the campaign to promote healthy denture care for seniors and to fight tooth decay in children.
At several local senior-living facilities, Cho has assisted seniors and their caretakers in better denture care. “Oftentimes, dentures go uncared for, harboring dangerous bacteria,” said Cho. “It is important to remind seniors of the serious health hazards that come with not cleaning their dentures and rinsing their mouths daily.” The 2000 edition of the Journal of the American Dental Association confirms Cho’s statement and indicates that roughly 57 percent of denture wearers rarely or never receive a routine checkup.
For the city’s children, Cho has presented many childhood oral healthcare prevention seminars at local schools. Among the schools are Prisk Elementary School and Marshall Middle School. At Prisk, Cho made his message more relatable to the young students by utilizing a puppet named “Fred.” Cho participated in Marshall’s “College and Career Day” event. His display there focused on the significance of college and the rewards that come with a career in dentistry, in addition to the children’s oral health care.
A 2006 study on childhood tooth decay by the Dental Health Foundation entitled “Mommy, It Hurts to Chew” found that 50 percent of the 186-children sample group have tooth decay, 19 percent of those being rampant and 28 percent of those being untreated.
For more information about Cho’s “Oral Healthcare Awareness Campaign,” visit dwcdental.com.
