Working Together to Improve Childrens Oral Health

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Working Together to Improve Childrens Oral Health

• OHI and AAPD Webinar Series
• Office of Head Start
• Washington, DC
• December 10, 2008

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Semcac Head Start

• Lori Woxland, RN
• Health Coordinator
• Serving Six Rural Counties in
• Southeast Minnesota
• (Region V)

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Our OHI Goals

• Improve dental access to Head Start eligible
  children ages 3 - 4 years of age.
• Increase awareness of the importance of
  preventative oral health care and understanding
  of using the oral care system among participating
  families and staff.
• Increase awareness of the importance of
  preventative oral health care and access to
  dental providers for vulnerable pregnant women.

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Partnerships

• Dental Access Project
• WIC/Public Health
• Dental Partners
• Dentists
• Collaborative Hygienists
• State Collaborations

5
Successes

• Number of children receiving preventative
  services increased
• Collaborative hygienists available in 5 of the 6
  counties
• More program awareness

6
Challenges

• Dental Access Project ended services
• Meeting 100 dental exams and follow up treatment
• Roles of collaborative hygienist and dentists
  evolving

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• Questions and Answers

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Child Care AssociatesHead Start/Early Head Start

• Sue McCormick Molly Win
• Child Care Associates
• Fort Worth, Texas
• (Region VI)
• Jennifer Reimer, BS, Dental Hygiene Consultant

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Partnerships

• Childrens Oral Health Coalition
• Tarrant County Health Department
• City of Fort Worth Health Department
• JPS Dental Clinic
• WIC
• Texas Health Steps
• All Smiles Dental Clinic

• Catholic Charities
• Early Childhood Intervention
• Perla Dental
• Dental Health for Arlington
• Greater Fort Worth Dental Hygiene Association
• TCC Dental Hygiene Department
• TWU Dental Hygiene Department

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Challenges

• Parental lack of education regarding early
  preventative services
• Transportation
• Cultural barriers and language differences
• Lack of education in oral health prevention in
  early pregnancy
• Lack of providers who accept Medicaid/CHIPS or
  children without insurance
• Long wait to be seen by dentist
• Parental fear of dentist
• Teachers own apprehension of dentists
• Limited access to dentists who see pregnant women

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Removing Challenges

• Funding from the Oral Health Initiative fund
• Partner with public transportation to provide
  bus/train passes
• Greater Fort Worth dental hygienists provide
  fluoride varnish to 7 sites twice a year
• Greater Fort Worth dental hygienists and
  Childrens Oral Health Coalition educate teachers
  to remove their own apprehension from dental
  experiences
• Dentists provide free exams to 7 sites twice a
  year
• Childrens Oral Health Coalition provides a
  Train the Trainer to Head Start and Early Head
  Start staff, including mentor staff
• MOUs with dentists who are open Saturday and on
  the bus line
• MOUs with dentists who are bilingual bilingual
  health staff
• MOUs with dentists who can provide next day
  appointments

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Successes

• Teachers have better knowledge of preventative
  care.
• Pregnant mothers can access early maternal oral
  care.
• Because of frequent fluoride varnish and site
  visits, children are less fearful.
• Donation of oral health supplies to all Head
  Start children and families, at least twice a
  year by the Childrens Oral Health Coalition,
  assists with home hygiene.
• Bilingual translation by health staff, volunteer
  hygienists, and dentists assist with cultural
  barriers.

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Success Story Center Director after Train the
Trainer

• Mom took Jane to the dentist after the fluoride
  varnish and
• dental exam per the volunteer dentists
  request. Janes dentist
• then referred her to a specialty clinic in
  another city. Mom needed
• a dentist close to her home.
• I remembered that we had just received
  information from the
• training on Tuesday. I used those resources plus
  I called Shea to
• ask her for a few more. She called me back and
  together we
• found mom a resource close and she has an
  appointment
• tomorrow _at_1030. I am so glad I went to the
  training. 
• Thank you again Sue for inviting me.
• Debbie Cepeda, Center Director, Hillcrest Head
  Start

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• Questions and Answers

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Oral Health Connections

• Beth Vossler, Assistant Director
• Central Missouri Community Action
• Columbia, Missouri
• (Region VII)

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Three-Pronged Approach

• UCLA Oral Health Institute (OHI)
• Contracts with RDH for training and screenings
• Statewide Oral Health Initiativeslinkage to our
  local program
• Oral Health Summit
• PSP Fluoride Varnish Program

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OHI Contracted RDH

• UCLA Oral Health Institute is a module of the
  UCLA/Johnson Johnson Health Care Institute
• Julie Nice, RDH, BS

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State-wide Oral Health

• Annual Oral Health Summit Sponsor
• Preventative Services Program- Fluoride Varnish

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• Questions and Answers

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Closing Remarks

• Remarks
• Robin Brocato, Health Program Specialist
• Next OHI Webinar Series
• Health Education
• Date January 14, 2009
• Time 1100 am Eastern