The “Kindergarten Mandate” was adopted by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) in January 2017 requiring parents of kindergarten and first grade students to provide proof of an oral health assessment within the past year. Recognizing the importance of oral health and its impact on student attendance and academic performance, the mandate also encourages increased delivery of dental health education and preventive services for students. With support from Delta Dental of California, the America’s ToothFairy Los Angeles Oral Health Zone (LA OHZ) is collaborating with The Los Angeles Trust, an organization that works with the LAUSD to provide health care for students and families, to expand delivery of oral health education and improve oral health outcomes for students.

Earlier this month, Matilde Gabriela, our Los Angeles Oral Health Zone Manager, trained 40 Healthy Start coordinators representing various elementary schools to effectively address the issues of oral health, nutrition and healthy habits with parents and students within the LAUSD. The Healthy Start Program provides comprehensive school-integrated services and activities to improve academics, youth development, family support, basic needs and physical and mental health care for students. America’s ToothFairy also provided 20 ToothFairy 101 Community Education Kits to the Healthy Start Program to equip coordinators with hands-on educational resources for outreach. Together, we are working to increase compliance with the Kindergarten Mandate, increase oral health literacy and ensure kindergarten and first grade students receive preventive services such as fluoride varnish treatments.

The LAUSD is the second largest school district in the nation, serving more than 640,000 students. To learn more about how the Los Angeles Oral Health Zone can support your oral health outreach efforts, please contact Matilde Gabriela at mgabriela@ncohf.org.

The Los Angeles Oral Health Zone is made possible with support from generous funders including: