Yuma, Arizona (NAPSI) - Here’s health news you can sink your teeth into: Dental decay is the most common chronic childhood disease, with more than 16 million kids suffering from untreated tooth decay in the U.S. The mouth is the gateway to overall health, and an unhealthy mouth can be associated with obesity, diabetes and even heart disease.

In theU.S., oral disease causes kids to miss 51 million school hours and their parents to lose 25 million work hours annually.

Nevertheless, a survey by the Ad Council found less than half of American parents report that their children brush their teeth twice a day or more.

A Solution

To remedy that, The Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives was formed. It’s a coalition of more than 35 leading dental health organizations and, with the Ad Council, they created the Kids’ Healthy Mouths campaign to teach parents, caregivers and children about the importance of oral health and simple ways to prevent oral disease.

Created pro bono by ad agencies Grey Group and Wing inNew York, the campaign stresses the importance of brushing for 2 minutes, twice a day.

“The messages in this campaign may seem simple but their impact will be felt for years to come,” said Gary Price, Secretary and CEO of the Dental Trade Alliance Foundation. “Most mouth disease is preventable using steps that can easily become a part of every child’s life routine.”

According to the survey, 60 percent of parents with children ages 12 or younger don’t regularly help their children brush or check to make sure they’ve done a good job. Parents also report that, on average, their child spends more than 2 hours a day on such things as playing video games, texting or watching online videos.

The campaign suggests some of this time be used for improving their oral health with public service announcements (PSAs) that poke fun at the things children spend their time doing and highlight that it only takes 2 minutes, twice a day to help maintain a healthy mouth and prevent future oral pain. Other PSAs feature Elmo from “Sesame Street” or Tooth—the Tooth Fairy from the film “Rise of the Guardians.”

Music To Brush By

For entertaining two-minute videos to play while children brush their teeth, parents and caregivers can go to www.2min2x.org (available in English and Spanish and in a mobile version). There’s also messaging on Facebook and Twitter.

More Information

Learn more at www.2min2x.org.