During June as National Oral Health Month, the Kentucky Oral Health Coalition has launched a new series of oral health resources. KOHC’s Oral Health Resource Hub now includes several flyers for oral health providers and community-based organizations to display and distribute in dental offices, schools, libraries, and other locations.

“The flyers are very user friendly – the pictures, colorful text boxes, and plain language make challenging concepts more easily understood. It is so helpful to have resources all in one place, including those in Spanish for our LEP (Limited English Proficiency) patients,” said Dr. Stephanie Poynter, dental director at Family Health Centers, Inc. and chair of KOHC’s steering committee.

Through a partnership with the Kentucky Department of Public Health, KOHC has developed five new resources that give guidance and information on dental insurance, the intersection of substance use and oral health, and oral health care across the lifespan, including pregnancy, childhood, and older adulthood.

“Having access to the new educational resources from the Kentucky Oral Health Coalition’s new Oral Health Resource Hub is a game-changer for providers like me. They offer a wealth of information that we can use to enhance our patient and guardian oral health literacy. These resources enable our patients to make informed decisions about their oral health,” said Leah Smothers, PHRDH, Floss and Gloss Program Manager at the Purchase District Health Department.

The new oral health educational materials include:

“We encourage oral health providers and community health centers to distribute these new tools in their offices, as well as other community-facing organizations such as early child centers, schools, and libraries. Oral health is a critical component of a person’s overall health – and by emphasizing these prevention tips and care resources, we hope to improve oral health outcomes of all Kentuckians across their lifespan,” said Alicia Whatley, lead for KOHC at Kentucky Youth Advocates, the backbone organization of the initiative.

In addition to these new flyers, there are several other educational materials—some available in Spanish—as well as state and national resources and publications available for free. View and download materials at kyoralhealthcoalition.org/resources/.