Women & Children
Untreated, tooth decay causes pain and can lead to infections. Untreated tooth decay and other oral diseases interfere with a child’s ability to eat, sleep and speak and can make it hard to learn or even play.
Fortunately, dental sealants and fluoridated water combined with good personal hygiene and regular dental care can keep most children’s mouths healthy.
Maternal and Child Oral Health Grant Programs
Targeted Maternal and Child Health Oral Health Service Systems support States in implementing preventive and restorative oral health service programs for Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) eligible children, and other underserved children and their families. Active grant projects
Leadership Training in Pediatric Dentistry funds dental schools to to provide graduate training of pediatric dentists for leadership roles in maternal and child health. Active grant projects
Training Modules for Health Professionals
A Health Professional’s Guide to Pediatric Oral Health Management, a series of seven modules designed to assist health professionals in managing the oral health of infants and young children.
Open Wide: Oral Health Training for Health Professionals, a series of four modules designed to help health and early childhood professionals working in community settings (for example, Head Start and WIC staff) promote oral health in the course of promoting general health for infants, children, and their families.
Special Care: An Oral Health Professional’s Guide to Serving Young Children with Special Health Care Needs, a series of five modules is designed to provide oral health professionals with information to help ensure that young children with special health care needs have access to health promotion and disease prevention services that address their unique oral health needs in a comprehensive, family-centered, and community-based manner.
These curricula were developed by a multidisciplinary teams of experts with funding from HRSA.
Publications
Be An Oral Health Champion: How School-Based Clinic Staff Can Help Students Achieve Good Oral Health