[Expert Solution]: Respond to peers comments: 1

Respond to peers comments: 1.) A Health Promotion Plan for the oral health of smokers that focuses on both smoking cessation and patient education. Current smokers have twice the risk of developing gum disease compared to non-smokers. And since gum disease treatments may not be as effective on smokers the first part of my health promotion plan is assisting patients with smoking cessation. For both their overall health and their oral health it is imperative that patients quit smoking. This can include the use of counseling and medications to assist patients with quitting. We can also give patients access to quit lines to offer them support along their journey. The other part of my health promotion plan is both to help the patients while they attempt to quit but also to help the patients that are unwilling to quit. This is mainly focused on education and teaching patients proper dental hygiene that is tailored to smokers. Simply following regular dental guidelines of flossing and brushing twice a day is not enough for smokers. This plan will help reach the smokers who may be struggling to quit and eliminates patients being forgotten if they elect to continue smoking. This includes teaching patients the importance of at least rinsing their mouth out after smoking a cigarette. Preferably the patient will brush their teeth after smoking. I understand this may seem a little overboard but brushing after each cigarette when possible will help remove the amount of tar and nicotine that will settle on the teeth causing discoloration and decay. Another major focus is the importance of smokers staying hydrated and drinking plenty of water. Smoking can cause dry mouth so staying hydrated is crucial. Another major focus for proper dental hygiene will be handling smokers tongue and using proper tools to clean the tongue to remove the build up of papilla which can be a breeding ground for bacteria. I feel we will have more success helping the patients that are smoking with doing as much preventative dental care and hygiene as possible to improve oral health. Even though smoking cessation would be the preferred goal it is not always an immediate solution. 2.) One of the at-risk populations for obesity in the United States is Hispanic children. I am developing a health promotion plan that involves primary prevention. Within a child’s diet, it is best to involve the improvement of eating habits such as eating more fruits and vegetables each day. This is called modeling a healthy eating pattern. Also, increasing physical activity is essential to do with these children at a young age. The result of this can be “Physically active youth have stronger muscles and bones, better cardiovascular fitness, and lower body fat than those who are inactive” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2023). Another primary prevention strategy for Hispanic children is to have a consistent sleep schedule. Having 7-8 hours of sleep for these children is vital for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In order to live a healthy life, “Children who don’t get enough sleep are at risk for unhealthy weight gain” (CDC, 2023). In today’s day and age, there are many children that are using more technology and electronics every single day. The final primary prevention strategy is to replace all screen time with these children with more family time. Having these electronics can truly affect the physical and mental health of these children. To prevent this situation, “Reducing screen time can free up time for family activities and can remove cues to eat unhealthy food” (CDC, 2023). All and all, the main objective for this at-risk population, Hispanic children, is to reduce the rates of obesity with this health promotion plan.