Gangdong-gu has newly constructed/upgraded a total of 11 tooth brushing stations at 4 elementary schools within the district.

A total of 4 elementary schools were selected for the 'elementary/middle/high school tooth brushing station installation' project, which is part of the 'making school bathrooms of decoration and dreams' project jointly conducted by Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. A total of approximately 93 million won was secured for the budget with which 3 tooth brushing stations were newly installed at Godeok and Hansan Elementary Schools and 8 old tooth brushing stations were upgraded at Myeongwon and Seongil Elementary Schools.

The existing tooth brushing stations generally had only 2 faucets and therefore, it was difficult for many students to brush their teeth at the same time and the old facilities were not able to serve their proper function.

The tooth brushing stations were installed in hallways where students had easy access, and each station can accommodate to 4~7 students at the same time. An official of the school described the change after the installation of stations by saying, "Thanks to the new clean sinks, the number of times I see the children actively wash their hands and brush their teeth have noticeably increased."

Gangdong Public Health Center is conducting various educational programs for proper oral health management to schools with completed tooth brushing station installations. They plan to help students make tooth brushing a natural habit by teaching proper tooth brushing methods to students during lunch time. In addition, they plan to make an effort to help Gangdong-gu students maintain lifelong oral health by continuously teaching about daily habits and fluorine tooth brushing methods to prevent cavities.

A Gangdong-gu official said, "In Gangdong-gu, the rate of tooth brushing in toddlers not yet attending school is 74.6%, but drops down to 38.7% for children who have began elementary school. We hope that the installation of tooth brushing stations is helpful for creating healthy oral hygiene habits for elementary students."

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