The American Dental Association (ADA) is synonymous with healthy smiles, oral health and overall health. More than 50 years ago, the ADA launched its Seal of Acceptance program, which has become the gold standard for evaluating effective oral health care products such as toothbrushes, toothpaste mouthwashes.

The ADA now has launched a new oral health initiative, the ADA Smile Healthy program. To help consumers make smart oral health choices when shopping for food and beverages, the Smile Healthy program will award its logo to products that promote good oral health. That logo on products such as fluoridated bottled water and various foods and beverages tells the consumer the product has met rigorous performance and testing standards and is recognized by the ADA as a smart oral health choice.

All revenue from this program will go to the ADA Foundation to support causes such as access to care for the underserved, dental education, research and public education on oral health issues.

The ADA Smile Healthy program will be open to products that provide smart choices for maintaining oral health, other than those products directly used in dental hygiene or used in treatment of dental disease. These products are covered by the ADA Seal of Acceptance program.

Products that are good oral health choices can be found at a glance when shopping. Just look for the distinctive smile when making your selections. You can be confident the ADA has taken the guesswork out of picking products that aren’t harmful to your oral health.