Smile, kids!

A design contest for children and a "Sugarless Wednesday" are two events sponsored by the New York State Dental Association during Children's Dental Health Month in February.

"Keeping Smiles Brighter" is a statewide contest open to children in pre-K-12, who can design a placemat that shares a message about good dental care. Entries are due March 6.

Sugarless Wednesday, devoted to helping children become more aware of non-essential sugars in their diet, will be celebrated Feb. 25.

Free teaching materials, posters, stickers and Sugarless Wednesday "survivor" certificates are available from NYSDA. Get details at http://www.nysdental.org or by calling NYSDA at 518-465-0044.

Health, safety conference

Jan. 30 is the deadline to register for NYSUT's biennial Health and Safety Conference, which is being held March 6 and 7 in Saratoga Springs.

The conference features workshops, roundtable discussions and an opportunity to network with other health and safety professionals. 

Check out http://www.nysut.org for conference details and registration forms.

Stinky news

USA Today examined the impact of industrial pollution on school children and found that 20,000 schools — about one in every six — are within a half-mile of a major industrial plant.

To identify schools where children might be at greatest risk from toxic chemicals, the newspaper used the government's most up-to-date computer simulation for tracking industrial pollution, then mapped the locations of 127,800 public, private and parochial schools.

The Environmental Protection Agency has never undertaken the task, the paper claims.

Cervical cancer month

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. The Coalition of Labor Union Women says 11,070 women will be diagnosed this year with cervical cancer, and 3,870 will die of the disease.

It recommends:

• Ages 9-26: Ask your provider about the HPV vaccine.
• By age 21: Get a Pap test.
• Age 30 and up: Ask for an HPV test along with your Pap.

CLUW (http://www.cluw.org) reports women ages 65 and older comprise 20 percent of all new cervical cancer cases and are 35 percent more likely to die of the disease than younger women.