Each February, National Children’s Dental Health Month (NCDHM) unites healthcare providers, educators, and dental professionals to promote children’s oral health.
Building on the 2025 theme, the American Dental Association (ADA) emphasizes that dental care is important year-round. Free resources, including posters and flyers highlighting proper brushing, are available in English and Spanish at ADA.org/NCDHM. The materials come in two child-friendly designs and two sizes (8.5″x11″ and 11″x17″) and include matching coloring sheets with brushing instructions.
The ADA’s 2026 Brushing Calendar is also available for free download. This 12-month tool encourages children to brush twice daily with fluoride toothpaste and floss once a day, while allowing them to color images each month to track healthy habits.
Additionally, the NCDHM Program Planning Guide offers coordinators, teachers, and parents activities, tips, sample proclamations, and resources to promote oral health to children effectively.
“Healthy habits grow with children,” said ADA President Rich Rosato, D.M.D. “Caregivers should teach kids to brush twice daily, starting with a rice-grain-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste at first tooth appearance and a pea-sized amount at age three and beyond, along with daily flossing. Balanced diets low in added sugars and regular dental visits are critical building blocks for overall health.”
The ADA updates NCDHM materials every two years, with new resources planned for 2027.
NCDHM began in February 1941 with a one-day event in Cleveland and a weeklong celebration in Akron, Ohio. The first national observance, Children’s Dental Health Day, took place on Feb. 8, 1949. It expanded to a weeklong event in 1955 and became the monthlong program celebrated today.