Don’t forget to schedule your child’s required dental assessment by May 31!

Don’t forget to schedule your child’s required dental assessment by May 31!

Poor oral health can affect a child’s attendance, grades, and overall performance in school. To make sure your child is ready for school, California law requires children to have a dental assessment by May 31 in either kindergarten or first grade, whichever is their first year in public school. This is known as the Kindergarten Oral Health Assessment (KOHA).

School Readiness Facts:

· Children who have poor oral health often miss more school and receive lower grades than children who do not (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Children’s Oral Health | Basics | Children’s Oral Health | Division of Oral Health | CDC).

· Children with cavities may also have difficulty eating, talking, and concentrating in school.

· Healthy smiles make children feel confident and good about themselves.

· Oral health is an important part of overall health.

· Establishing good oral health habits in childhood helps create a lifetime of healthy smiles.

How to complete the Kindergarten Oral Health Assessment (KOHA)

· Look out for a registration form that will be distributed when you register your child for school.  oralhlthassess (3) Click here to download the KOHA form in English. o Available Translations – Clearinghouse for Multilingual Documents (CMD) (CA Dept of Education) Click here to download the KOHA form in other languages. · Find your Medi-Cal dental home by using the Find A Dentist tool Find A Dentist | Smile California.

· Complete the dental assessment by May 31 – don’t forget to bring the assessment form to your visit!