The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #40036

Annette Ferebee, MPH, Center for Health and Health Care in Schools, George Washington University, 1350 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 505, Washington, MD 20036, Nancy Degroote, St. John Community Health Investment Corporation, 22101 Moross, Ste. 365, Detroit, MI 48236, Priscilla Condon, MSN, CRNP, Health Establishment at Local Schools (HEALS), Inc., 1216 Meridian Street, Huntsville, AL 35801, 256-428-7275, ajf@gwu.edu, and Steve Marshall, School of Dental and Oral Surgery, Columbia University, 630 West 168th Street, P & S Box 20, New York, NY 10032.

The burden of untreated dental health problems for children is substantial; tooth decay or dental caries is one of the most common chronic childhood diseases – 5 times more common than asthma and 7 times more common than hay fever. Recent reports, such as Filling the Gaps: Oral Health in America, reiterate the Surgeon’s General report on the need for action on oral health and gives the nation a grade of C in oral health for 2001. To expand the dental care available to children and youth, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has awarded grants to seven organizations through a new program, Caring for Kids: Expanding Dental and Mental Health Services Through School-Based Health Centers. Administered by the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools (CHHCS) at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., this program seeks to demonstrate effective ways to increase access to dental health services for underserved populations through school-based health center programs. During this session, three of the funded projects will outline their approaches to meeting the dental health needs of children and youth through school-based health center programs. These approaches include collaborating with community-based providers, developing dental schools clinical internship sites, using outreach workers to identify and enroll students for care, and using volunteer dentists to provide services. In addition, panelist will discuss state policy issues affecting provider mix and services in their states and if and how these policies can/should be amended to expand access to dental services for underserved populations, especially children and youth

Learning Objectives:

• Identify at least 3 approaches that can be used to expand dental health services in school-based health centers.
• Describe at least 2 ways that dental schools and dentists can get involved with school-based health centers to expand dental services.
• Articulate steps that can be taken at the state level to increase access to dental services for children and youth.

Keywords: Access, School-Based Programs

Related Web page: www.healthinschools.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.