A 'Beary' Big Mission: Improving Smiles Across North Texas

Cook Children’s Health Care System is sinking its teeth into its commitment to oral health, because caring for a child means caring for the whole child. Cook Children’s Community Health Needs Assessment in 2024 found 2 in 7 children (about 328,300) within Cook Children’s Health Care System service area do not have “excellent” or “very good” oral health. The assessment gathered insights from parents, caregivers and community leaders across the eight-county service area: Collin, Denton, Grayson, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant and Wise.

“Teeth are so important in so many ways, forms and fashion,” Tonya Fuqua, D.D.S., director of Child Oral Health at the Center for Children’s Health, led by Cook Children’s Health Care System. “The mouth is the gateway to our body, and it is connected to the rest of our body. And it starts with once a kid is born.”

The assessment also revealed 57% of children (about 651,000) received at least two or more preventive dental visits aligning with the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommendations.

 A Celebration to Sink Your Teeth Into

In honor of National Children’s Dental Health Month in February, the Cook Children’s Save-A-Smile program hosted a celebration this week in collaboration with the Fort Worth District Dental Society, the Texas Dental Association, and the Children’s Oral Health Coalition.

The organizations transformed the Cook Children's Medical Center Fort Worth Atrium into a dental-themed landscape. Patients received age-appropriate oral health kits, participated in arts and crafts, and chose a Build-A-Bear teddy bear or "tooth" to keep as a reminder of good oral hygiene.

“Healthy mouth, healthy body because if your mouth is healthy, that will hopefully lead you to a healthier body,” said Dr. Fuqua.