A toothbrush, some floss, maybe a travel-sized toothpaste sample.
There’s not a lot of excitement to be found in your standard dental goodie bag — particularly when you’re 4.
Add in a picture book? Now you’re talking.
Through a new partnership with Reach Out and Read of Northwest Ohio, The University of Toledo Department of Dentistry is providing free books to the youngest patients at its pediatric dental clinic.
“The kids get really excited. They still get a toothbrush and other dental care items, but the book is an extra prize. Our families have been receptive to it,” said Dr. Jaime Snook, a pediatric dentist and assistant professor in the College of Medicine and Life Sciences.
Reach Out and Read is a national nonprofit aimed at promoting early literacy through medicine. In Toledo, the grant-funded program is administered through the University’s Department of Pediatrics.
“It’s a great program that makes medical visits a little more fun,” said Lori LeGendre, the program director. “It gives kids something to take home and it serves as a way for the medical provider to talk about the importance of literacy and families reading together.”
Over the past two decades Reach Out and Read of Northwest Ohio has distributed hundreds of thousands of books through area pediatricians’ offices, including UToledo’s own Rocket Pediatrics offices in Waterville and Toledo.
With a recent grant from the Delta Dental Foundation, the program has been expanded to include the UToledo dental clinic, which is located in the Jobst Tower at ProMedica Toledo Hospital.
Aimed at kids up to age 5, the books touch on simple but relevant oral health topics such as the importance of brushing, what to expect at a dental visit and losing a tooth.
In addition to the books, Reach Out and Read provides dental clinic staff with early literacy talking points and kid-friendly resources for families.
For Dr. Michael Nedley, an assistant professor and director of UToledo’s pediatric dentistry residency program, the books are as much for the parents as they are the kids.
“Kids look at it as a little reward, but it’s much more than that. Literacy is step one to success in school and life,” he said. “This is a way for us to reach not only children but parents with that message.”
Including the UToledo dental clinic, Reach Out and Read of Northwest Ohio currently partners with 24 sites across the Toledo area.
