Eduarda Pereira
12/22/2009

Foto: Marco Semblano

According to a national study conducted by the General Direction for Health, connected to the Ministry of Health of Portugal, the number of children and adolescents from 6 to 15 years of age with dental cavities increased more than 20% in the last twenty years.

Believing that oral health care for children from an early age is essential towards guaranteeing good quality of life, the Legion of Good Will conducts the Happy Smile program, which works on the prevention and forwarding of children and adolescents to dental treatment.

The Organization maintains in the cities of Porto, Coimbra, and Lisbon Mobile Oral Health Units—vehicles adapted with a structure of a dental clinic that go to the communities. The initiative allows children from an early age to acquire healthy hygiene habits and to pass them on to their relatives.

Foto: Marco Semblano

Actions—Through the LGW, thousands of Portuguese children have oral health monitoring and receive fluoride, food education and oral hygiene kits, aside from being aware of what is necessary for a proper oral hygiene.

Ludic activities are also fundamental for children, especially for the younger ones, to absorb quickly and efficiently the good habits taught by the program. For this reason, films, cartoons, drawing activities and games are frequently employed to encourage children to learn the different kinds of oral hygiene care as well as to pass this knowledge on. The protagonist of these games is a character called “Dentolas”, a crocodile that, despite his large mouth, manages to maintain his teeth white and healthy, and is an example of how one can have a healthy mouth and a very happy and constant smile.

Two new mobile dental units were delivered this year, enabling dental hygienists and dentists to reinforce the monitoring and prevention in the universe of children assisted by the Happy Smile program.

Currently, the initiative is developed free of charge in schools, institutions, day care centers, and homes, among them the Associação Solidariedade Social of the Alto da Cova da Moura district; the Centro Santa Clara de Assis, in the Zambujal district; the Centro Infantil São Gerardo, in the Cova da Moura district; the Jardim da Infância Semente; the Centro Comunitário Espaço de Crescer; the Associação Portuguesa de Pais e Amigos do Cidadão Deficiente Mental (APPACDM) of the city of Vila Nova de Gaia; the Centro de Apoio à Comunidade Major Valentim Loureiro; the Vila d’Este Urbanization Owners Association; and the Amadora Municipal Library, in Lisbon.

New mobile dental unit in Porto

The Oral Health on Wheels for the Greater Porto was inaugurated on May 21, at the Batalha Square.

The implementation of this mobile dental unit counted on the support of the EDP Foundation, which purchased and adapted the equipment. On the occasion, the new Mobile Dental Unit for Lisbon was also introduced, replacing the former Oral Health on Wheels, a vehicle which, for nearly eight years, performed in a pioneering fashion the monitoring of oral health of thousands of children and youngsters in the Portuguese capital.

The LGW wishes to thank all the volunteers who, properly trained by dentists, became Community Oral Health Agents, bringing awareness to teachers, children, young people, adults, the elderly and the families themselves about the importance of healthy oral hygiene habits and a balanced diet.