Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #105081

Giuseppina Romano-Clarke, MD, FAAP and Julie D. Dunn, MPH. Pediatrics, Dorchester House Multi-Service Center, 1353 Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester, MA 02122, 617-288-3230, Giusy.Romano-Clarke@dorchesterhouse.org

Primary tooth decay affects as many as 20% of young American children and can have devastating effects including failure to thrive, poor school attendance and learning, low self-esteem, and permanent dentition problems. Oral disease / ECC is unequally distributed with minority and poor children being most affected. In fact, national statistics have reported disease prevalence as high as 40% in Native American and Asian children. These children have also traditionally experienced barriers to preventive and reparative dental services. The Healthy Teeth for Tots (HTT) Project is a community-based program at the Dorchester House Multi-Service Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Key program components are aimed at reducing primary tooth decay by increasing both prevention and treatment efforts. The project fosters competency and participation by primary care and WIC providers in oral health promotion activities, develops a model for closer collaboration between medical and dental providers within the community health center, enhances consumer awareness about oral health, and improves utilization of additional local dental services. HTT's curriculum geared towards primary care, WIC and general dental providers, along with culturally appropriate consumer education tools, can be easily replicated in other community health center settings. Discussion may include: effective methods to assess one's own pediatric communities oral health needs, how to foster collaboration with local key oral health partners to initiate and enhance program and policy/financing development, and creating, administering and evaluating effective pediatric oral health curricula geared towards non-dental personnel.

Learning Objectives:

• Evaluate the status of pediatric oral heath needs within one’s community
• Develop effective pediatric oral health education sessions for non-dental / primary care personnel
• Identify / Create culturally appropriated pediatric oral health educational tools for distribution within the community to increase oral health literacy, and
• Describe current strategies used to increase oral health promotion delivery during routine well-child visits

Keywords: Community-Based Health Care, Oral Health Needs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.