CATCH Healthy Smiles
CATCH Healthy Smiles is a school-based program that is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to reduce dental caries. In the program, students learn about why toothbrushing, flossing, dentist visits, and healthy food and drink choices are important for oral health. In addition to the classroom curriculum, students will learn and practice the skills necessary to maintain healthy smiles during a weekly classroom-based toothbrushing routine.
The program includes:
- 5 interactive TEKS-aligned lessons with 40+ coordinating extension activities and PE supplemental activities for kindergarten, first grade and second grade
- Parent resources with smile care tips, videos, and at-home activities
- A digital platform with easy access to curriculum and supporting materials for teachers
The CATCH Healthy Smiles program is designed to prevent tooth decay for students in kindergarten through 2nd grade. Throughout the program, students will learn about the major factors that cause tooth decay and what they can do to maintain a healthy smile.
The program is designed to help students:
- Discover the causes of tooth decay, including dietary choices and poor oral health habits
- Develop skills for brushing, flossing, and choosing tooth-healthy foods & drinks
- Recognize the importance of regular dental visits
- Create personal oral health care goals
CATCH Healthy Smiles is designed to influence the following social, behavioral and psychological factors:
- Supporting the norm that everybody takes care of their teeth by brushing, flossing, and visiting the dentist
- Develop the knowledge that hygiene habits, food & drink choices and dental check-ups influence oral health
- Creating positive oral hygiene attitudes and beliefs
- Developing the skills needed to properly brush and floss teeth
- Developing the skills needed to choose tooth-healthy foods and drinks
The intended behavioral outcomes are to ensure that students will:
- Use the proper technique to brush their teeth for two minutes at least twice a day with help from an adult
- Use the proper technique to floss their teeth at least once a day with help from an adult
- Visit the dentist twice a year
- Choose water to drink and tooth-friendly foods like crunchy vegetables and fruits to eat
The CATCH Healthy Smiles program components are:
- Curriculum
- Five 25-minute classroom sessions for each grade level from kindergarten-2nd grade with PowerPoint presentations and printable vocabulary word walls
- 40+ TEKS-based extension activities per grade level designed to reinforce the classroom sessions and deepen understanding
- 9 PE Supplemental Activities to extend knowledge into the Physical Activity classroom
- 2 CATCH Healthy Smiles Videos for use in the classroom
- Visual materials: posters, vocabulary word wall printable, & stickers
- Toothbrushing Routine:
- We will provide toothbrushes, toothpaste and all of the storage and cleaning materials you will need to work with your students to build toothbrushing skills at least once a week and ideally several times a week.
- The Teacher Success Toolkit is designed to help teachers plan a successful toothbrushing routine
- Training:
- Educator training on how to implement the curriculum and toothbrushing routine
- CATCH Healthy Smiles Champion training designed to help your CATCH Healthy Smiles Champion lead the program implementation on site
- A Teacher Success Toolkit to help teachers plan a successful toothbrushing routine
- This Coordination Guide to guide a school-wide approach to oral health promotion
- A Teacher Feedback Survey to guide further development
- Technical assistance for the digital implementation of CATCH Healthy Smiles at your school
- Ongoing support and resources via the CATCH Healthy Smiles Teacher Facebook Group
- Parent Outreach Materials:
- Parent Fact Sheets, Infographics and At Home Activities in English and Spanish
- Sample parent outreach messaging
- Oral health care goal sheets to be sent home with students and completed with a guardian
- Videos to reinforce learning at home
- Slides to present the program to your community or SHAC
- Parent social media page to engage parents in oral health-related topics
- School-Wide Engagement:
- Sample morning announcements about oral health care
- Family Fun Night Guide to highlight oral health care during school events
- Posters for the classroom, bathroom and cafeteria
- Labels for the cafeteria food line to highlight tooth-friendly crunchy vegetables and fresh fruits
- Bulletin Board themes with printable materials to showcase oral health care themes
Design for a cluster randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of the CATCH Healthy Smiles school-based oral health promotion intervention among elementary school children
Chuang, R. J., Byrd-Williams, C., Yamal, J. M., Johnson, K., Kelder, S., Nelson, S., Mofleh, D., & Sharma, S. V. (2022). Contemporary clinical trials communications, 30, 101033.
Development and feasibility testing of CATCH Healthy Smiles, an oral health promotion intervention for prevention of dental caries among elementary school children
Sharma, S. V., Kelder, S., Yamal, J. M., Chuang, R. J., Byrd-Williams, C., et al. (2022). The Journal of school health, 92(1), 20–30.
Courtney Byrd-Williams, PhD
Ru-Jye (Lindi) Chuang, DrPH, MS
Steven Kelder, PhD, MPH
Shreela V. Sharma, PhD, RD, LD
Celebrating the 10-Year Anniversary of CATCH Global Foundation: A Research & Resource Round-Up
Join us in celebrating CATCH Global Foundation’s 10-year anniversary by learning more about its resources and the research from Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living investigators that provides the evidence base for this work.
CATCH Healthy Smiles - Let's Talk About Kids' Oral Health
Did you know that tooth decay is the most common childhood disease? In addition to causing serious discomfort, poor oral health in childhood can lead to disfigurement, infections, and impaired language development.
