• By Todd Luck
• Posted Monday, July 29, 2024

County Commissioners recognize Preventive Dental Health's 50th Anniversary

The Forsyth County Preventive Dental Health Program received a resolution recognizing the program’s 50th anniversary from the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners on July 25.

The program was founded in 1974, the same year that North Carolina began its pilot preventive dental health program. The local program, located at the Forsyth County Department of Public Health, provides non-clinical, preventative dental health services to local school-age children. This includes complete oral health assessments, referring children with potential dental problems to licensed dentists, and counseling and educating children and parents on oral health.

In the last year, the Preventive Dental Health program screened 12,389 kids in all 44 local elementary schools, 4 charter schools and approximately 45 childcare centers, resulting in 1,381 referrals.