Oral health is the number one need identified
by the Utah County Health Department nurses who work with the children in Utah
County schools. Utah is a state with minimal water fluoridation, and the rate
of dental caries, or tooth decay, is relatively high. Utah County has one of
the highest incidences of caries in the state. Seven years ago, a group of Utah
Valley Hospital Volunteers started the Utah County Dental Campaign, and
provided dental kits consisting of a toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss
to students at four Utah County elementary schools. Since that first year, the
program has grown to include many more schools and has helped thousands of
children. This year the program has visited twenty of the twenty-three Title I
schools in Utah County, delivered dental kits to 15,000 children, and applied
fluoride varnish to over 4,000 children.
In the past few years the Utah Valley Hospital Volunteers have moved on
to other projects, but the program has lived on with the remaining partner
organizations taking on different roles to ensure that it can continue in the
schools. Community Health Connect (CHC) initially came on board to help provide
follow-up care for children who were identified as being in serious need of
dental care but have no insurance or other funding to pay for the care they
required. Along with Intermountain Healthcare, CHC has become one of the
primary program coordinators. The Utah Migrant Farmworker Program supplies much
of the funding and volunteers from the BYU and UVU predental club are
instrumental in staffing the assemblies. Mountainland Applied Technology
College students in the dental assisting program apply the fluoride varnish and
school nurses with Utah County Health
Department are on hand at the varnishing application as well.
In addition to more community
partners the program has expanded to include more elements and deliverables.
The program now includes a fun, educational skit featuring Mr. Happy Tooth
and Cougar Paste, who help teach children how to properly brush and
floss their teeth. In addition to the dental kits, the program also provides
the opportunity for the children to receive a free fluoride varnish with
parental permission courtesy of the Utah Migrant Farmworker Program. As the
volunteers apply the varnish to the children’s teeth, they also screen them for
excessive amounts of decay. While preventative care is the most effective care we can provide, there are
many students who are found during the fluoride application and screening
process to be in urgent need of restorative care. If the student has insurance
coverage they are referred to a dentist who accepts that insurance. If they do not have insurance, Community
Health Connect then connects these students to one of the community dentists in
the Volunteer Provider Network (VPN) who will provide free dental care for the
uninsured child.
The
dentists in the VPN give free care in their own offices to patients who could
not otherwise afford the services. Our network currently includes over forty
dental professionals, including a handful of dentists who specialize in pediatric dentistry. Anticipating an increase in patients from the
Utah County Dental Campaign’s school dental program, we are always increasing
our ability to provide restorative care. If you are interested in becoming a part of
Community Health Connect’s Volunteer Provider Network, please contact Executive Director, Starr Stratford at
801.818.3012.
