Strategies and Resources for Improving Oral Health Across Life Stages: A Comprehensive Approach

Oral health is crucial for the well-being of all individuals across various stages of life, including pregnant women, children, adolescents, young adults, and families. Common issues such as tooth decay dental caries or cavities and gingivitis gum inflammation can often be prevented through regular oral care routines, proper diet management, and adequate preventive measures.

Our Strategic Efforts

To improve the state of oral health across our communities, we m to:

1. Enhance Access to Preventive Services

2. Promote Integration within Health Systems

3. Achieve Oral Health Equity

For equity-focused advancement in this area, we must:

1. Integrate oral health care into primary and community health systems.

2. Provide culturally sensitive, affordable preventive care services.

3. Empower communities with knowledge to adopt good oral health practices for overall health.

Our Approach at the Local Level

MCHB invests in three core strategies at state and local levels:

1. Testing promisingfor integrating oral health into primary care and safety-net settings.

2. Offering tlored support to stakeholders to facilitate access to preventive dental services among targeted populations.

3. Developing accessible resources, guidance, and tools for administrators, healthcare providers, educators, and policymakers.

These investments m to:

1. Identify gaps and barriers within a state’s healthcare system regarding integrated oral health care delivery.

2. Support quality improvements in existing systems of service delivery.

3. Enhance awareness, knowledge, and practical skills among stakeholders committed to implementing evidence-based practices.

Resources for MCH Professionals

The National Maternal Child Oral Health Resource Center serves as the hub for professionals focused on advancing dental care across states and communities with these objectives:

1. Hosting webinars through The Oral Health Learning Cafe

2. Publishing a curated set of oral health indicators aligned with maternal and child health programs

3. Releasing consensus prenatal oral health guidelines

4. Distributing Bright Futures: Oral Health – Pocket Guide, updated to the third edition

5. Offering special care guides for serving children with special needs, second edition

Noteworthy Publications

1. Assessing an Integrated Model of School-Based Dental Care - Maternal Child Health Journal 2018

2. Oral Health Among Children and Youth With Special Health Care Needs - Pediatrics 2021

3. Preventive Oral Health Care Utilization and Health Status in US Children: 2016 National Survey of Children's Health - Journal of American Dental Association 2019

Funding Detls

MCHB invests $5.25 million annually to advance its oral health goals, as evidenced by the following ongoing initiatives:

1. The National Maternal and Child Health Consortium for Oral Health Systems Integration and Improvement COHSII - An initiative focusing on strengthening healthcare systems that serve MCH populations with a focus on reducing disparities through capacity building, system identification, improvement initiatives, and evidence-based practice translation.

2. The Networks for Oral Health Integration Within the Maternal and Child Health Safety Net program, which supports funding to three distinct networks med at developing and evaluatingof care enabling integrated oral health care within maternal and child health safety-net settings.

Reach Out to MCHB

Pamella Vodicka, M.S., R.D.

CAPT United States Public Health Service

Senior Public Health Analyst

Last Reviewed: October 2023

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