Oral health initiatives celebrated

Oral health initiatives celebrated

Published on 07 August 2023

Efforts by Gannawarra Shire Council and other agencies to improve the oral health of residents were recently highlighted at the La Trobe Rural Health School Research Conference.

Council and Northern District Community Health representatives joined Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research Senior Lecturer, Dr Virginia Dickson-Swift in presenting the outcomes of the Gannawarra Oral Health Action Plan at the conference.

Developed in 2014 thanks to Council’s participation in the National Health and Medical Research Council’s three-year funded Rural Engaging Communities in Oral Health project, the Gannawarra Oral Health Action Plan aimed to implement measures to improve the oral health of residents in the municipality, particularly by reducing the hospital admission rate for oral health conditions of children 14 years and under.

“Actions completed thanks to the development of Gannawarra Oral Health Action Plan have helped reduce the hospital admission rate for Gannawarra children aged 0-14 years from three time higher than the Victorian average in 2013 to roughly equivalent to the state average in 2019,” Council Chief Executive Officer, Geoff Rollinson said.

“This reduction in hospital admissions would not have occurred without the dedication of Council staff from across our early years and health services as well as the efforts from local dental clinics, and our health partners, who worked together to improve the oral health outcomes for our youngest residents.”

Key actions completed thanks to the implementation of the Gannawarra Oral Health Action Plan include:

Students at local primary schools and pre-schools receiving oral health promotion and oral health screening by the Royal Flying Doctor Dental Service and Dental Health Services Victoria; Delivering Dental Health Services Victoria’s Smiles4Miles program in partnership with Northern District Community Health at all Gannawarra-based pre-schools and the Gannawarra Children’s Centre; All Gannawarra based pre-schools and the Gannawarra Children’s Centre being awarded under the Healthy Eating and Oral Health priority area of the statewide Healthy Early Childhood Services Achievement Program; Strengthening Maternal and Child Health Key Ages and Stages oral health consultations; Installation of drinking fountains as part of Gannawarra Shire Council-managed projects; Adoption of the Gannawarra Shire Healthy Food and Drink policy in March 2020; and The fluoridation of Cohuna’s town water supply in April 2021, making it the second town within the Gannawarra to benefit from similar works, with Kerang’s drinking water supply fluoridated since 2010.

Northern District Community Health Chief Executive Officer, Mandy Hutchinson said that implementing the Gannawarra Oral Health Action Plan was a demonstration of what can be achieved when Council and the health and education system all work together to improve a health outcome.

“No one organisation could have made the changes required to improve the situation where our young children were ending up in hospital for oral health conditions, which are largely preventable through good oral hygiene, regular dental check-ups, brushing well, eating well and consuming water as the drink of choice,” Ms Hutchinson said.

“Working with La Trobe University on a community-based engagement project has meant that we can strengthen our partnership with the community to ensure that the oral health and wellbeing of our children and their families continues to be supported into the future.”

Dental Health Week 2023 is being celebrated from 7-13 August 2023. The theme of Dental Health Week 2023 is Mind, Body, Mouth it’s all connected. The national campaign focuses on the links between diseases in the mouth and diseases in the body and the importance of taking steps to care for your teeth and gums to help you keep your teeth and smile for life.

For more information visit www.teeth.org.au/dental-health-week

ABOVE: Gannawarra Shire Council Manager Community Recovery, Narelle O'Donoghue (left), Northern District Community Health Chief Executive Officer, Mandy Hutchinson and NDCH General Manager, Programs and Services, Alexia Stephens presented the outcomes of the Gannawarra Oral Health Action Plan at the La Trobe Rural Health School Research Conference.