National Maternal and Child
Oral Health Resource
Center
This and past issues of the Oral Health Alert: Focus on Head Start are available at http://www.mchoralhealth.org/alert/archives.html.
************************************************************
1. Access to Baby and Child Dentistry Program:
Supplemental Billing Instructions
This manual contains instructions for participating in the Washington
State Health and Recovery Services Administration's Access to Baby and
Child Dentistry (Medicaid) program for infants and children ages 5 and
younger. The manual is geared toward licensed health
professionals working in facilities, local health jurisdictions, and
border areas as well as toward out-of-state providers of dental-related
servicesTopics include client eligibility, coverage, billing, and claim
forms. Definitions and lists of contacts and acronyms are included.
Separate billing instructions are available for dental-related services
provided to children and adolescents ages 5 through 20 and for services
provided to adults ages 21 and older eligible for Medicaid. A fee
schedule is also available.
Contact: Washington State Department of Printing Fulfillment, 902C 79th
Avenue, S.E., Tumwater, WA 98501. Telephone: (360) 586-6363; Web site: https://fortress.wa.gov/prt/printwa/wsprt/default.asp.
Available at no charge; also available at no charge from the Web site
at http://fortress.wa.gov/dshs/maa/Download/Billing%20Instructions%20Web%20Pages/ABCD_Dental_BI.htm.
**********
2. Denti-Cal Facts and Figures: A Look at California's
Medicaid Dental Program
This report explains how Denti-Cal, Medi-Cal's fee-for-service dental
program, is funded and organized, the demographics of the population it
serves, and the challenges it faces in making oral health care
available to all individuals eligible for the program in California.
Topics include coverage and cost, expenditures and services, providers
and access, utilization of services by children and pregnant women, and
challenges and questions. Statistical data is presented in charts,
tables, and graphs throughout the report. A glossary, a methodology,
and managed care and provider information are also provided.
Contact: California HealthCare Foundation, 476 Ninth Street, Oakland,
CA 94607. Telephone: (510) 238-1040; fax: (510) 238-1388; e-mail: info@chcf.org; Web site: http://www.chcf.org. Available at no
charge from the Web site at http://www.chcf.org/documents/policy/DentiCalFactsAndFigures.pdf.
**********
3. Neighborhood Smiles
This tool kit was prepared by the Massachusetts Office of Oral Health
to provide materials for non-oral-health professionals to use as part
of an early intervention program targeting infants and children from
birth to age 5 who are at risk for oral disease. Contents include a
fact sheet outlining the Neighborhood Smiles program, the kit's
components, and how to use the kit; a flyer with pictures of a healthy
mouth, dental sealants, and common oral health problems; and a
risk-assessment form. In addition, the kit includes eight cards to
inform parents and other caregivers about appropriate oral health
practices and warning signs of early childhood caries.
Contact: National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center,
Georgetown University, Box 571272, Washington, DC 20057-1272.
Telephone: (202) 784-9771; fax: (202) 784-9777; e-mail: info@mchoralhealth.org; Web
site: http://www.mchoralhealth.org.
Photocopy available at no charge.
**********
4. Mobile-Portable Dental Manual
This manual focuses on using public health approaches to create health
care systems to serve populations that have difficulty accessing oral
health care. Cross-references and links to the companion document,
Safety Net Dental Clinic Manual, provide basic principles of designing,
staffing, operating, and financing oral health care services. Chapter
content, presented in a question-and-answer format, helps to guide
decisions about using mobile vehicles, portable equipment, or a
combination system. Links to resources, tips, photographs and floor
plans, lists of equipment and vehicle manufacturers, examples of
programs, and references are included. [Funded by the Maternal and
Child Health Bureau]
Contact: Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors, 105
Westerly Road, New Bern, NC 28560. Telephone: (272) 637-6333; Web site:
http://www.astdd.org. Available at
no charge from the Web site at http://www.mobile-portabledentalmanual.com/index.html.
**********
5. Beyond Access: The Role of Family and Community in
Children's Oral Health
This article summarizes key themes and insights from an experiential
conference held in Los Angeles, California, to study family and
community factors in oral health. Topics include (1) children’s needs
and societal priorities, (2) the science of child health determinants,
(3) the demographics of the United States, and (4) the importance of
communities that support children and families. Conference participants
concluded that to eliminate children’s oral health disparities,
paradigms must be changed to promote health, integrate oral health into
other health and social programs, and empower communities. In addition,
conference participants concluded that oral health advocates play a key
role in ensuring that oral health is integrated into policy and that
dental schools play a leadership role in expanding community
partnerships and providing education on health determinants.
Participants recommended replicating this experiential conference in
other venues.
Mouradian WE, Huebner CE, Ramos-Gomez F, Slavkin HC. 2007. Journal of
Dental Education 71(5):619-631. Abstract available at http://www.jdentaled.org/cgi/content/abstract/71/5/619?etoc.
**********
6. Symposium on Lifetime Oral Health Care for Patients
with Special Needs
This set of papers, published in the March-April 2007 issue of
Pediatric Dentistry, presents information from the presentations of the
American Academy of Pediatric Dentists' (AAPD’s) Symposium on Lifetime
Oral Health Care for Patients with Special Needs held on November
17-18, 2006, in Chicago, Illinois. Topics include the perspective of a
pediatric dentist who treats children with special health care needs
(CSHCN) and is herself a parent of a child with special health care
needs; conceptual frameworks for understanding system capacity in the
care of CSHCN; lessons in family activism and recommendations to
address oral health challenges for CSHCN; the Association of State and
Territorial Dental Directors' Best Practices Project; challenges and
opportunities in dental education, policies, and guidelines influencing
oral health care for CSHCN; and state compliance in meeting the oral
health needs of children in the welfare system. Information from
workshops on educational, guidelines, and systems issues, held as part
of the AAPD symposium, are also included.
Adair SM (ed.). 2007. Pediatric Dentistry 29(2):98-152. Available at http://www.aapd.org/searcharticles/current.asp?PUBLICATION_ID=166.
************************************************************
Subscribe, update information, or unsubscribe to the Oral Health Alert: Focus on Head Start at http://www.mchoralhealth.org/alert/index.html.