The Oral Health Alert: Focus on Head Start is a monthly
newsletter that provides timely information about national campaigns
and initiatives, materials, and journal articles. Past issues are available at http://www.mchoralhealth.org/alert/archives.html
August 2009
Special Notices:
The Office of Head Start released an information memorandum to help Head Start and delegate agencies assist parents in identifying and accessing medical and dental health care services. The memorandum, Accessing Professional Medical and Dental Services (ACF-IM-HS-09-05), is available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/policy/im2009/acfimhs_09_05.html.
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry has issued the following new oral health policy and clinical guideline:
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1. The Dental Home: Summary from an MCHB Expert Meeting
This report summarizes an expert meeting held on September 18-19, 2008,
in Washington, DC, to explore the concept of the dental home. Topics
include promising program approaches for defining and implementing
dental homes, relationships between dental homes and medical homes,
social and health risks that impact dental homes, and health system
requirements needed for dental homes. A companion presentation is also
available. [Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau]
Holthouse S, Browne ME, Holt K. 2009. Washington, DC: National Maternal
and Child Oral Health Resource Center. 34 pp. Available at http://www.mchoralhealth.org/PDFs/DentalHome_Report.pdf
(report) and http://www.mchoralhealth.org/PDFs/DentalHome_Presentation.pdf
(presentation; to view, choose the "view full screen" or "slide show"
option in your PDF viewer).
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2. Environmental Factors in Implementing the Dental Home
for All Young Children
This paper explores environmental forces relevant to the adoption and
implementation of the dental home for children. Topics include the
advent of "social medicine," early childhood caries risk and disease
management, oral health and oral health care disparities, perceived
need for oral health services and barriers to dental home utilization,
dentistry as a profession, and dental-system capacity for children,
including those with special health care needs. Additional items
include program and cost implications and logic models. [Funded by the
Maternal and Child Health Bureau]
Edelstein BL. 2009. Washington, DC: National Oral Health Policy Center
at Children's Dental Health Project. 2009. Washington, DC: National
Oral Health Policy Center at Children's Dental Health Project. 18 pp.
Available at http://www.cdhp.org/system/files/1.%20Implementing%20the%20Dental%20Home.pdf
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3. Improving Perinatal Oral Health: Moving Forward--An
Expert Meeting, Meeting Summary Report
This report summarizes the perinatal oral health meeting held on
September 8, 2008, in Washington, DC. Topics include the role of the
Maternal and Child Health Bureau in improving the oral health of
pregnant women; an overview of the needs by dentists,
obstetricians-gynecologists, state policymakers, and consumers;
strategies for improving oral health care during the perinatal period;
and areas for working in collaboration. [Funded by the Maternal and
Child Health Bureau]
Brown A. 2009. Washington, DC: Altarum Institute. 23 pp. Available at http://www.mchoralhealth.org/PDFs/Perinatal_ExpertMeeting_Report.pdf
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4. Increased Children’s Access to Fluoride Varnish
Treatment by Involving Medical Care Providers: Effect of a Medicaid
Policy Change
This study evaluated whether a change in the Medicaid policy allowing
medical providers to be reimbursed for fluoride varnish treatment (FVT)
had an impact on access to FVT for children enrolled in Medicaid in
Wisconsin. Medicaid claims for FVT in 2002-2003 totaled 3,631.
Following the policy change, claims for FVT increased to 28,303, with
38 percent submitted by medical providers. Overall, 49 percent of the
increase in FVT claims was attributable to medical providers. In
addition, the rate of FVT claims by dentists increased by over 300
percent after the policy was implemented. The change in FVT claims was
highest for children ages 1 and 2, followed by children from age 2 to
age 3. [Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau]
Okunseri C, Szabo A, Jackson S, Pajewski NM, Garcia RI. 2009. HSR:
Health Services Research 44(4):1144-1156. Abstract available at http://www.hsr.org/hsr/abstract.jsp?aid=44115147736
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5. Simple,
Effective--and Inexpensive--Strategies to Reduce Tooth Decay in Children
This article provides strategies to prevent tooth decay in children
that health professionals can share with parents. Topics include
reducing the number of tooth-decay-causing bacteria in the mouth,
decreasing the bacteria's ability to produce acid, and making tooth
enamel more resistant to acid attacks. Strategies include replacing
sugar with xylitol, receiving fluoride treatment, teaching parents how
to care for children’s teeth, and receiving dental sealants.
Holtzman J. 2009. ICAN: Infant, Child and Adolescent Nutrition
1(4):225-231. Abstract available at http://can.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/1/4/225
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6. Xylitol
Pediatric Topical Oral Syrup to Prevent Dental Caries: A Double-Blinded
Randomized Clinical Trial of Efficacy
This trial evaluated the effectiveness of a pediatric topical oral
syrup with xylitol to reduce dental caries among young children. The
study demonstrated that a topical oral syrup with xylitol (8 g per
dose) divided into two or three doses given during primary tooth
eruption in children ages 15-25 months reduces caries. Furthermore, up
to 70 percent of caries could be prevented by xylitol treatment in this
study population. [Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau]
Milgrom P, Tut OK, Mancl L, Roberts MC, Briand K, Bancio MJ. 2009.
Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine 163(7):601-607. Abstract
available at http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/163/7/601
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