|
Programs That Work
We regularly feature a successful program or agency that is having a positive
impact on Connecticut Oral Health issues.
ACROSS THE SMILES A Mobile Dental Health Program in
Northeastern Connecticut
ACROSS THE SMILES, a mobile dental program, is making a difference in Northeastern
Connecticut. Established by Generations Family Health Center in 2002, this
program has been providing access to preventive and restorative dental
care to many elementary and middle school children in the rural towns of
Windham county. Throughout Connecticut, dental care remains increasingly
unavailable for children who are uninsured or receiving Medicaid health
coverage. This program was initiated in 1999 by the Northeast Oral Health
Initiative, a group of healthcare and community professionals who collaborated
to address the issue of access to oral health care in this region.
Immediate goals of the program are to reduce access barriers to dental
care and to address the urgent needs of the children by reducing their
pain and providing preventive and routine restorative services. A long-term
goal is to develop an educational program which will raise the awareness
of oral health issues in the community. As a first step toward this goal
Generations Family Health Center and Eastern Area Health Education Center
(AHEC) have partnered to bring OPEN WIDE Oral Health Awareness Training,
created by the Oral Health Unit of the Department of Public Health, to
the educators in the area schools during the 2003-2004 academic year.
In the longer term, we hope to see the impact these programs have on the
restorative needs of the children in the area. Good dental health is the
foundation for good general health, and good dental habits formed early
provide dental as well as general health benefits that can last a lifetime.
During the first year of operation the ACROSS THE SMILES dental van has
visited 16 schools, eight Head Starts and two migratory programs, treating
children during the school day. The teachers and administrators, very aware
of the oral health needs in their student body, have welcomed and supported
our program. However, the most inspiring support and acceptance comes from
the smiles of excitement from the children, when they see the van visiting
their school. Beginning in the spring of 2002, Generations provided oral
health screenings for over 8,000 children in the towns in Windham County.
These screenings clearly identified the need for oral health services for
children in these communities, and confirmed the epidemic rate of dental
disease. Statistics from these screenings indicate an overall untreated
caries rate of 26%, reaching 40% in several of the larger school districts
in grades K-6: Putnam (40%), Sterling (35%), Windham (38%) and Plainfield
(39%).
During this the past academic year 2002-2003, among the 600 children seen
for treatment on the ACROSS THE SMILES van, 37% of the children had a DMF
(an index used to measure dental caries) of 1; another 21% had a DMF between
0-1. The dental van has recently begun treating children at local Head
Start and migratory programs and has identified 50% and 75% of the children
as having a DMF of 1, respectively.
The follow-up of patient care can be a complicated process, if the mobile
unit cannot return to the site in a timely manner or the children are absent
from school. The ACROSS THE SMILES program has addressed this issue by
establishing regular visits to community sites. A READ WHILE YOU WAIT program
has been started at several local libraries. And in a combined effort with
Day Kimball Hospital (DKH), the van is providing follow-up dental services
at the DKH Putnam and Plainfield Pediatric Centers on a regular basis.
An additional goal of this program is to combine a preventive dental visit
with their well child visit.
As the summer starts and school is not in session, our program is
collaborating with many groups: the Northeastern WIC and Healthy
Family/Healthy Start
programs to reach young children and their mothers; school based recreational
programs; and nursing homes. (Our wheelchair accessible van allows access
to care to many of their physically challenged residents.)
The challenges of a mobile program are unique and its success depends
on a community team approach. Without the support of the professional
health
care workers, the town governments, superintendents, nurses and the teachers
in these towns, the ACROSS THE SMILES program could not reach these children.
We have been very fortunate to receive such widespread support. Even
in the very early stages of this program, the community support was wonderful
-- and not just from the health and government agencies. We were able
to
secure a garage for the van from a local trucking company, water services
from a sewage company, and the installation of power sources from the
students of a local technical school.
Initial funding provided by the Connecticut Office of Health Care Access
and available through Day Kimball Hospital, enabled Generations to purchase
the wheelchair accessible 40-foot mobile unit, which is equipped with
two dental operatories. For the first year, start-up operational funding
was
received from the Connecticut Department of Social Services. This year
the program is partially funded by the Connecticut Health Foundation
to address dental health care access for the underserved children in
rural
Northeastern Connecticut.
Previously Featured Programs
Dental Center of Stamford
If you know of an effective CT Oral Health program and would like to see
it featured here, please send a brief description along with contact information
for you and the agency to: info@ctoralhealth.org
|
|
|
