{"id":17294,"date":"2026-02-05T10:50:48","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T15:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?page_id=17294"},"modified":"2026-02-06T09:25:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T14:25:03","slug":"rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-encourages-healthy-dental-habits-among-children","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-encourages-healthy-dental-habits-among-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District Encourages Healthy Dental Habits Among Children"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>February 5, 2026<br \/>\n<strong>Media Contact:<\/strong> Dr. Zelalem Attlee, <u><a href=\"mailto:Zelalem.Attlee@vdh.virginia.gov\">Zelalem.Attlee@vdh.virginia.gov<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Rappahannock-Rapidan<\/strong> <strong>Health District Encourages Healthy Dental Habits Among Children<br \/>\n<\/strong><em>February is National Children\u2019s Dental Health Month<\/em><\/p>\n<p>WARRENTON, Va. \u2013 The Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District reminds parents, guardians and caregivers to begin teaching young children about the importance of good dental health habits.<\/p>\n<p>Children can get a jump start on a lifetime of good oral health by focusing on maintaining healthy teeth and gums. Positive strategies include incorporating oral health hygiene routines at home along with scheduling regular dental visits. Good oral health should begin as early as infancy and young children should ideally see a dentist by their first birthday.<\/p>\n<p>Cavities are the most <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/oral-health\/prevention\/oral-health-tips-for-children.html\">common chronic childhood disease<\/a><\/u>\u00a0in the United States. More than half of children aged six to eight years have had a cavity in at least one of their baby teeth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy encouraging children to develop strong dental habits early, we\u2019re supporting prevention and helping build a strong foundation for good oral health,\u201d said Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District Director J. Carr, M.D.<\/p>\n<p><u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ada.org\/resources\/community-initiatives\/national-childrens-dental-health-month\">National Children\u2019s Dental Health Month<\/a><\/u>\u00a0is observed during February each year. The <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ada.org\/\">American Dental Association<\/a><\/u>\u00a0designated the national health observance to promote the benefits of good oral health.<\/p>\n<p>Adults can assist children with <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/oral-health\/prevention\/oral-health-tips-for-children.html\">developing healthy habits<\/a><\/u>\u00a0in the following ways.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Brush their teeth twice a day with <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/oral-health\/prevention\/about-fluoride.html\">fluoride<\/a><\/u><\/li>\n<li>Help your child brush their teeth until they have good brushing skills use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste and always spit it out rather than swallow.<\/li>\n<li>Ask your child\u2019s dentist to apply <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/oral-health\/dental-sealant-program\/\">dental sealants<\/a><\/u>\u00a0when appropriate. Applying <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/oral-health\/prevention\/about-dental-sealants.html\">dental sealants<\/a><\/u>\u00a0to the back teeth prevents 80% of cavities.<\/li>\n<li>Drinking fluoridated tap water when possible.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Learn more about oral health for children at <u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/oral-health\/\">www.vdh.virginia.gov\/oral-health\/<\/a><\/u> or by contacting Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District at <u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rrhd.org\">www.rrhd.org<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"># # #<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>February 5, 2026 Media Contact: Dr. Zelalem Attlee, Zelalem.Attlee@vdh.virginia.gov. Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District Encourages Healthy Dental Habits Among Children February is National Children\u2019s Dental Health Month WARRENTON, Va. \u2013 The Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District reminds parents, guardians and caregivers to begin teaching young children about the importance of good dental health habits. Children can get a jump [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":444,"featured_media":0,"parent":16853,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[351,1501,1038,1502],"class_list":["post-17294","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-children","tag-dental-health","tag-fluoride","tag-national-childrens-dental-health-month"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District Encourages Healthy Dental Habits Among Children - Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-encourages-healthy-dental-habits-among-children\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District Encourages Healthy Dental Habits Among Children - Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"February 5, 2026 Media Contact: Dr. Zelalem Attlee, Zelalem.Attlee@vdh.virginia.gov. Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District Encourages Healthy Dental Habits Among Children February is National Children\u2019s Dental Health Month WARRENTON, Va. \u2013 The Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District reminds parents, guardians and caregivers to begin teaching young children about the importance of good dental health habits. 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