Oral Health Education and Training

The information and resources below will help you to identify oral disease, provide caries prevention services, and establish referral relationships with dental professionals.

Smiles for Life National Oral Health Curriculum

Developed by the Society for Teachers of Family Medicine, the Smiles for Life National Oral Health Curriculum has 2 child-focused modules:

• Child Oral Health
• Caries Risk Assessment, Fluoride Varnish, and Counseling

These modules are endorsed by the AAP and approved for continuing medical education.

Bright Futures Oral Health Resources

The Bright Futures Guidelines for Health Supervision for Infants, Children, and Adolescents prioritizes oral health as a major health topic to be included in practice. View the Bright Futures: Oral Health Pocket Guide as well as practice guides and other Bright Futures resources.

Pediatric Oral Health Flip Chart and Reference Guide

The Pediatric Guide to Children’s Oral Health Flip Chart and Reference Guide includes pictures and speaker’s notes to help you to counsel patients about oral health and apply fluoride varnish, and take action against oral injuries and disease. It is available for purchase through shopAAP.

PediaLink

PediaLink is the AAP's online learning center offering a variety of educational opportunities and resources, including the below focused on oral health. This video series is free for AAP members and others.

• Preventive Oral Health Services Video Series
  • Providing fluoride varnish in the medical setting (30 minutes)
  • Providing preventative oral health services in practice (30 minutes)

Training Videos

Minnesota Oral Health Coalition (MOHC) Videos: MOHC has many helpful video resources focused on collaborating with communities and schools, improvements through innovation and integration, and the lifelong importance of oral health.

Smiles for Life Training Videos: Smiles for Life has several demonstration videos of patient care including knee-to-knee, fluoride varnish application, and palpation of the temporomandibular (TMJ) and the floor of the mouth.

How To Apply Fluoride Varnish (From the First Tooth): From the First Tooth has instructional videos of how to apply fluoride varnish in a primary care setting for very young children.

Protecting All Children's Teeth (PACT): A Pediatric Oral Health Training Program

Educators can use the below oral health educational content (downloadable PowerPoint presentations) for medical students and pediatricians in training. The content is for educational purposes only. CME credit for presenting this content is not available from the AAP. This content is no longer available as an online module.

Each PowerPoint presentation includes an outline, learner objectives, speaker notes, references, and a question-and-answer series following the presentation.

Presentations may be downloaded and tailored to meet the needs of your learners. If you plan to significantly edit the content of your presentation, please contact us for permission to update the AAP copyrighted material. The content is for educational purposes only.

• Basic Oral Anatomy
• Oral Health Screening
• Caries
• Oral Injury
• Dental Development
• Oral Pathology
• Fluoride
• Preventive Care
• Oral Findings
• Special Needs
• Oral Habits
• Systemic Diseases
• Oral Health in Adolescents

PACT Post-Test – Learners can be directed to this link to complete a comprehensive post-test. If you require a hard copy of the post-test and answer key, please e-mail oralhealth@aap.org.

PACT Instructor Guide –This guide will help instructors implement the PACT materials within their educational settings.

Dental caries is the most common chronic disease in children. Pediatricians and other medical providers play an important role in improving children's oral health outcomes. Access issues prevent many children from visiting a dentist. If you are knowledgeable about oral health, you can discover problems, emphasize cavity prevention, and make life saving referrals.