Healthy Mouth Healthy Child (HMHC) is committed to the preventative healthcare of children starting in infancy. The mission of HMHC is the elimination of the most common, chronic infectious disease in children between 2-5 years of age in North America; early childhood caries. Early Childhood Caries (ECC), also known as childhood cavities, is an infectious disease that affects 28% of children (5.6 million) in North America between the ages of 2-5. It is a progressive disease that impacts a child’s health and development over a lifetime if left untreated. ECC is most prevalent during a critical time in a child’s life; when a child’s brain is developing at the most critical and fastest rate in their lifetime (1-5 years of age). ECC is caused by a variety of factors, but the most common is negligent care of baby teeth. The condition can also be transferred from caregivers to children. The result is chronic pain, infection and inflammation, which negatively impacts the child’s development and has lifelong affects. It’s about more than just baby teeth.

ECC affects children across various socio economic backgrounds and is growing at an increasing rate. The great news is that it’s 100% preventable and the cost to prevent this disease is minimal or free. A child’s baby teeth need a healthy routine just as do adult teeth.

Our desire is to empower parents through education on how to optimally care for their children and give them the best beginnings of a healthy life, beginning at birth. We need the community to engage in changing the way we think of baby teeth and how significant their impact is on overall health. The mouth is the gateway to the body. For our whole self to be healthy, the mouth has to be healthy.