An initiative recognized for bringing oral health clinics to public schools across the Carolinas is expanding to include dozens of Head Start centers and other early childhood centers.
Rural Health Group is one of those centers.
The School-Based Oral Health Initiative, which previously worked solely with school-age children, will serve preschoolers ages 3-5 in the federally funded Head Start program.
“This expansion provides the unique and exciting opportunity to open new pathways to care and prevent oral health problems before they have a chance to take hold,” said Daijah Davis, director of oral health at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, which is supporting the effort alongside the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation and The Duke Endowment. “Many dental programs have shared that by the time they see children in kindergarten it is often too late to prevent dental disease, as many have already begun experiencing decay. Bringing preventive care into the early care and education setting can play a vital role in stopping decay before it begins.”
Yvonne Long-Gee, CEO of RHG, said that the organization desires to establish itself as the dental home for its pediatric and adult dental patient population. “In an effort to form good oral habits early in life, RHG believes firmly in intervening in the oral health of children. For many years, RHG has provided dental education, and hygiene in our pediatric office, as well as full scope dental care for the K- 12 students at our KIPP Gaston School Based Health Center.”
She said, “The goal is to start dental care early in life, educating parents and children about dental care, screening, referrals, and timely checkups. The desired outcome of early intervention is to prevent dental disease, by establishing good oral health practices early in life.”
Oral health is important to one’s overall health, she said. “It impacts medical outcomes both positively and negatively; therefore, preventing early decay leads to the prevention of lifelong dental disease which far too often plagues children and rural communities.”
Statistics show the need for better oral health care is considerable. Only 56 percent of children ages 3-5 who were enrolled in North Carolina’s Medicaid program received a preventative oral health care service in 2019.
Economically vulnerable and low-income children in South Carolina are twice as likely to have untreated cavities and only 13 percent of children receive dental sealants.
To better meet the need, organizers launched the School-Based Oral Health Initiative in 2018. It began as a six-year grantmaking effort to place school-based dental clinics in rural and underserved parts of North Carolina and South Carolina.
The initiative has funded oral health clinics in more than 400 schools in 64 counties. More than 15,000 children have received services, including more than 6,000 who received dental sealants to help prevent tooth decay. The program also offers oral health literacy and education, and a dental home children and families can turn to for services. Early intervention benefits the entire family.
Encouraged by their work in elementary schools, organizers see Head Start programs as the logical next step in integrating oral health care into community settings.
Head Start centers, which help low-income children and families develop their skills and prepare for school, are well-positioned to educate and engage families in preventive care.
Organizers of the School-Based Oral Health Initiative plan to expand to more than 80 Head Start centers – 40 or more in each state. The first cohort will be located in regions where elementary school clinics are already running.
“These programs have been proven to connect children with a dental home and introduce dental care to the family,” says Erika Kirby, executive director of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation, which supported the launch of school-based oral health programs in South Carolina. “Bringing this model to Head Start introduces the benefit of the program earlier and applies sealant protection when it can be preventive rather than restorative.”
Grant funds can be used to support staff time, infrastructure, materials, community engagement, training opportunities and other program needs. They may also be used to provide stipends, grants or other resources to partner Head Start sites.
The new Head Start-focused grantees joined existing school-based oral health grantees in Charlotte last week for the annual School-Based Oral Health Grantee Conference. The effort is a partnership between the Endowment and the Blue Cross foundations.
“We have been so gratified to work with such strong partners over the years on this project,” said Stacy Warren, associate director in The Duke Endowment’s Health Care program area.
“We are looking forward to working with our partners and Head Start leaders to bring vitally important oral health care to preschool-age children.”
