Get the word out about WIC with the WIC outreach toolkit!
Oral health advocates understand the impact of nutrition on oral health, and that for infants and young children nutrition plays a crucial role not only in preventing tooth decay – the most common childhood disease which is important to prevent in primary teeth — but also in the development of teeth and jaws. Yet many Kentucky children – about one in five – are food insecure.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) helps women, infants, and children – including those in kinship and foster care – get the nutrition they need. This program is a lifeline for over 115,000 Kentucky parents, caregivers, and kids, providing them with food benefits through an EBT card, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and more.
WIC currently screens for oral health problems, including:
- Tooth decay
- Baby Bottle Tooth Decay
- Periodontal disease
- Gingivitis of pregnancy (Pregnant only)
- Missing more than 7 teeth or ineffectively replaced teeth which impair the ability to ingest food
WIC also shares downloadable (and some free printed) educational pamphlets about oral health for children and adults, in English and Spanish, as part of its WIC Works Resource System.
To help get the word out about WIC, Kentucky Youth Advocates has created a WIC outreach toolkit for local communities, leaders, and professionals who serve young children to use to promote WIC. This toolkit includes flyers and social media posts that local communities, organizations, and professionals who serve young children can use to promote WIC access among families.
KOHC wants to encourage oral health advocates to use the WIC outreach toolkit to help spread the word about WIC and improve the nutrition and oral health of women, infants, and children in Kentucky.
