As a dental assistant, you can help your patients prevent dental disease. You can teach them how to adjust their diet and make
more healthful food choices.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) first developed a guide to a balanced diet in 1992. This guide was presented in the
shape of a pyramid with the items at the top to be used sparingly and the items at the bottom to be consumed in larger amounts.
This food guide has undergone multiple revisions since it was originally developed. The latest revision of the USDA food guide
is MyPlate, released in June 2011. MyPlate uses a familiar visual, a place setting, to remind consumers to build a healthy meal.
The USDA website, ChooseMyPlate.gov, offers tips and interactive tools to help educate and aid consumers in making smarter,
healthier nutrition choices.
Assignment: access the ChooseMyPlate.gov, website and analyze your your own dietary habits. What did you learn about your quiz
results? Are there any areas in which you need to improve? Evaluate your results. as well as copy and paste into this discussion. What is
the minimum serving in each of the 5 food groups analyzed? You can use this learning experience and website reference as a tool to
review with your patients as well.