National Dental Hygiene Month | Schmakel Smile Design

October is National Dental Hygiene Month. That means it’s time to celebrate good oral health, Toledo and Lucas County!

Everyone at Schmakel Smile Design loves the month of October. In addition to the beautiful fall colors and rustlings leaves, the tenth month of the year brings with it National Dental Hygiene Month (NDHM). Focusing upon maintaining good oral health all year long, NDHM allows dental hygienists to help raise awareness of this important lifestyle habit.

This October marks the sixth straight year that the American Dental Hygienists’ Association and the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company are teaming together with the ADHA and Wrigley Oral Healthcare Program to work collaboratively toward this goal.

Here’s How to Celebrate NDHM, Toledo

Get Educated, Toledo!

How dedicated are you to good oral health maintenance? Do you do the Daily Four? If you do not know what this means, don’t despair! The NDHM, like Schmakel Smile Center, is dedicated to educating everyone about the importance of maintaining oral health, starting with the four things that you and your loved ones can and should do each day.

These components of the Daily Four are:

Brushing teeth twice daily,
Flossing every day,
Rinsing with antimicrobial mouthwash,
and chewing sugar-free gum

If you are a member of the dental community, please remind your patients to “Do the Daily Four.” During each dental office visit, start a conversation with your patients about how integrating these good oral healthcare habits into their daily routine will benefit their oral health and contribute to improved overall health.

Free Dental Samples!

Free samples are an excellent way to promote maintaining good oral health. Like many dental hygienists taking part in NDHM, we will be offering a variety of free samples of sugar-free gum, dental floss, antiseptic mouthwash, coupon pads, and a variety of educational materials. It’s called community outreach, and Schmakel Smile Design is reaching out!

Toledo, Share Your Stories!

Do you have an exciting story to tell about your community outreach project? How about a unique event that is helping improve the public’s oral health? Why not share it with everyone on ADHA’s Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts. Tell us how you and your fellow hygienists are making a difference and improving your patients’ health. Ans since everything is more fun with a hashtag, don’t forget to include the #NDHM2015 in all your posts. It helps others follow the positive impact dental hygienists are having each day!

NDHM Poster Contest

Here’s the chance for the people of Toledo and Lucas County to represent themselves on the national level!

To add more fun to this year’s NDHM campaign, the ADHA and the WOHP are once again supporting the highly- popular NDHM Poster Contest. This year’s “Capture a Candid” contest encourages dental hygienists to take a picture of themselves, their colleagues, or their community – anyone who is committed to improving oral health – and the NDHM poster in the most unique, non-operatory setting. Be sure to highlight the Daily Four regimen of brushing, flossing, rinsing and chewing.

Share your photo on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and include #NDHM2015 with your submission. And please encourage friends and colleagues to like and favorite your submission! A first-, second-, and third-place cash prize will be awarded – $150, $100 and $50, respectively – to the winners at the contest’s conclusion on Oct. 31.

Resources for Toledo Teachers

Spreading the message of maintaining good oral health isn’t just for those in the dental profession. Teachers and educators can help spread this message, too. It’s a great way for everyone in the educational community to get involved and help spread the message of how important maintaining good oral health truly is.

To get involved with NDHM, please share these items with your students:

2015 NDHM Poster 11 x 17

Child Health Sheet

Adolescent Health Sheet

Healthy October Activity in Ohio: Pick Your Own Apples

Autumn… it’s the time for changing colors, cooler weather, and the year’s final harvest. Perhaps this is why picking apples is practically synonymous with this time of the year. This healthy activity gets you and your loved ones out-of-doors to enjoy everything that fall has to offer.

For those who have made apple-picking an annual tradition – and those looking to make new memories – these amazing orchards offer fun and worthwhile experiences for families:

MacQueen Orchards in Holland offers a wide variety of apples, including Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Jonathan, Granny Smith and Ida Red. For a wider variety, sort through the pre-picked apples at their Farm Market or bring home fresh pies, doughnuts, cakes and breads from the bakery.

Hillcrest Orchard is described as a fun fest in Amherst. A wagon ride allows you to pick from 17 different varieties right off the tree! There is also a four-acre Amazon Adventure Corn Maze and a pedal kart track! Your little ones will love the play areas around the farm and many other exciting attractions.

It’s apple-picking time at Lynd Fruit Farm in Pataskala! Along with the apples, the farm offers a market featuring homemade produce and local items including applesauce, herbs, baskets, and more. But sure to check out the eight-acre Macchu Pichu Survivor Corn Maze.

At Irons Fruit Farm in Lebanon, you can pick apples on your own or take a guided tour with friends. You’ll learn about the process of growing apples and end the tour with apple cider and a cinnamon-cider doughnut! There’s also the fun of the corn maze, hayrides to the pumpkin patch, and much more.

Pick from 20 varieties of apples at Hidden Hills Orchard in Marietta. There are more than 5,000 trees from which to choose! And if you like cider – and who doesn’t? – the orchard produces a tasty drink from a blend of fresh-pressed apples.