"Smiles not Tears" an Aboriginal Health Worker Led Dental Health Education Program.

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Early dental decay causes much pain and suffering to very young Aboriginal children. Unfortunately dental services for many of these communities are very limited, so it is vital to utilise local health care workers to give parents advice on how to prevent dental decay. Simple dietary changes,especially night time bottle use and ealy introduction of fluoride toothpaste can greatly reduce dental decay. We wish to recruit Aboriginal Health Workers to take on this educaton program as they are well known in their communities and have an existing committment to health promotion. In addition we will be teaching them how to screen for ealy signs of decay, so children with dental problems can be fast tracked for the appropriate care. Our pilot work has led to the development of a culturally acceptable program which the AHWs feel is practical and sustainable. This trial seeks to determine whether the program will actually reduce the prevalence of dental decay in young Aboriginal children and is acceptable to parents and the AHWs.. If successful Aboriginal Medical Services will have evidence based information on which to base their dental preventive programs.