Staying Real in Israel
Home of
"The Marty Roberts Show"

How’s this for some progressive public health measures?
As a former dentist, I can tell you that this effort will not be wasted here, in Israel. When I was young in America, I witnessed the explosion in knowledge of proper oral hygiene and the importance of regular preventive dental care, encouraged mainly by the toothpaste manufacturers. We have not yet had this in Israel. The awareness among young and old is not nearly what it should be, hence, big-time dental problems for many.
This program, if effectively administered, should be a giant step in the right direction…healthier, happier smiles in Israel…

Kids, brush up on your dental hygiene


Every schoolchild will be given a toothbrush, toothpaste and instructions on using them properly, when a national dental-care campaign is launched after Passover, the Health Ministry says. The program will later be expanded to junior high schools and include more methods for improving oral hygiene

Reprinted from Haaretz.com Dan Even

In addition, a Health Ministry committee and education officials have recently drafted a plan for kindergarten children and pupils from first to third grades. This program would teach them how to brush their teeth properly.

The Health Ministry has begun hiring dentists and dental hygienists in the run-up to the nationwide launching of the preventive dental care plan.

“The plan will create an egalitarian, uniform basis in preventive dental care among schoolchildren, as well as raise the need for dental treatments and visits to dentists,” wrote Dr. Lena Natapov of the Health Ministry’s division for dental health. She was writing in an essay published this month in DENTAL, the Israeli dentists’ periodical.

The Health Ministry decided on a preventive dental plan following studies showing that children who receive at school a toothbrush, toothpaste and instructions on how to brush their teeth are more likely to do so at home.

For example, the European Journal of Oral Sciences published an article by Finnish scientists in August about fifth- and sixth-grade pupils whose dental hygiene improved after they received dental products and instructions on brushing teeth at school.

So far only around 30 percent of the country’s schoolchildren in a small number of local authorities have received dental service. The Health Ministry promised a year ago to expand the service to all Israel’s schoolchildren. The Finance Ministry promised to triple its budget and allocate NIS 30 million for this purpose. In addition, each child will be charged NIS 30 a year for the service.

A study in 70 kindergartens that operated the dental care plan in 2007 shows that every child suffers from an average of 3.31 damaged baby teeth. Since local authorities with financial woes have not provided the dental service, it is assumed that the actual number of children suffering from dental problems is considerably higher.

Following the failure of previous programs urging children to limit their eating of candy, the authorities have decided to base their efforts on the children’s curriculum.

For example, first-grade pupils who are learning to read will take a course combining reading and instruction on brushing teeth. Third graders learning numerology will be instructed on dental care using this method.

The Health Ministry plans to expand the plan to junior high schools and include additional material promoting dental hygiene such as reducing cell phone use, which could harm the salivary glands.

The ministry already announced in July 2008 that it wants to reduce children’s exposure to cell phones. This plan will be launched in five cities after Passover.

Meanwhile, Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman is advancing another dental care plan for schoolchildren.

“The ministry is preparing a national tender for purchasing toothbrushes and toothpaste to ensure the same quality of products for all the children,” a ministry spokesman said. “Expanding dental care services to all Israel’s children will begin with initial preventive services, distribution of brushes and toothpaste, and periodical examinations. Including dental care in the state-subsidized medical services will ensure dental treatment to children who need it.”