February is National Children’s Dental Health Month and the first, second and third graders at Rolesville Elementary School will be "brushing-up" on their dental health.

During the month of February, representatives from the Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education are visiting Rolesville Elementary School’s kindergarten classes with sidekick, Sheriff Tuffy Tooth. "Tuffy" is a singing, talking, light-up educational tool that makes dental care fun for children and comes with healthy snacks and a giant toothbrush to show how to properly brush teeth.

The first graders will learn about dental health through the video, "Goofy Over Dental Health," staring the Disney character Goofy. Rolesville second graders will take a field trip to the Poe Center to experience more extensive programs. All programs use educational tools such as songs, puppets and games to deliver the message in an entertaining way.

February’s classes are all a part of the RAH! for Rolesville health education program, a third year partnership of Raleigh Community Hospital, the Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education and Rolesville Elementary School.

Through the dental health portion of the program, students learn to brush properly twice a day, visit the dentist twice a year and to eat more healthy snacks.

Poe Center educator Durgesh Kudchadkar feels it is important to start educating children about proper dental care at an early age. "Children are more apt to continue proper brushing skills and dental hygiene habits as they grow older." Kudchadkar has noticed improvement in the children who have been in the program all three years. "They remember lessons from the previous years and look forward to the health education activities and programs."

Raleigh Community Hospital is a 186-bed acute-care facility located one block north of the beltline on Wake Forest Road in North Raleigh. Raleigh Community Hospital is part of the Duke University Health System. A full-service acute care hospital, RCH’s range of services includes a 24-hour Emergency Department, Intensive and Critical Care, Childbirth Center, Rehabilitation, Newborn Hearing Screening, Diabetes Treatment Center, Hematology/Oncology, Radiation/Oncology and community education.