Infant feeding caries: Part II. The Simcoe and Muskoka-Parry Sound Health Unit Project

IFC is a serious and expensive dental health problem affecting about five per cent of children in Simcoe County. Although the habits leading to IFC may be difficult to eliminate, efforts at prevention may be more successful. Health promotion efforts are an economic and superior manner to promote wellness as compared to treatment. If the present project prevents IFC in six children annually in Simcoe County, and two children in Muskoka-Parry Sound, the savings in treatment cost would be greater than the cost of the program. These savings pale in comparison to the enhanced level of dental health enjoyed by children who escape the present and future ravages of IFC. The Simcoe and Muskoka-Parry Sound health units provide a preventive program to ensure that area families are aware of the dangers of IFC and the steps they can take to prevent it. Through a joint venture, the local dental society and the health units were able to develop a superior health promotion program as compared to individual effort. Residents benefit from the promise of improved dental health and the two partners enhance their public credibility. During the 1995 Dental Health Month, the health unit and the dental society cooperated in an additional promotion involving local pharmacies as an adjunct to the present program.