Dental Health Promotion Program for Rural School Children - Assignment Example

1. Oklahoma Community Health Services, Inc.:
Oklahoma Community Health Services, Inc. is a federally qualified health center that caters primarily to the underserved population of Oklahoma City, OK of which nearly 51% are uninsured (Crutcher, 2006). Two gynecologists are working in this organization who will educate all expectant mothers who visit the clinic for their prenatal checkups about the importance of breastfeeding their children, having a balanced diet, and maintaining appropriate oral health in their newborns and infants. Educating expectant mothers about maintaining oral health needs in children will help in preventing dental caries among children. These expectant mothers will also be asked to contact their gynecologists at any time to get advice on products and practices to ensure good oral health in their children. Once the baby is born, the child will be referred to a pediatrician at Oklahoma Community Health Services, Inc., who will conduct oral health checks as part of the child’s annual health checkup.

2. Organization of Rural Oklahoma Schools (OROS):
The Organization of Rural Oklahoma Schools is an organized group of over 400 rural schools (Organization of Rural Oklahoma Schools, 2007). During the first year of the program, the OROS will help in the implementation of the ‘Dental Health Promotion Program for Rural School Children’ at three schools in Oklahoma City which will be randomly selected. One room in each of the school campuses will be allotted solely for this program to store program-related materials and conduct dental health screenings. The OROS will help implement this program in two additional schools every year so that this dental health prevention program can be extended to all underserved children living in Oklahoma City.

3. the University of Oklahoma, College of Dentistry
In addition to being a teaching institute, the University of Oklahoma, College of Dentistry provides comprehensive dental care services. The college will assign four dental health professionals – two students, one resident, and one faculty for each rural school enrolled in this program. This team will conduct dental health screenings every year for all children between the ages of 6 and 10 years within the school campus. Each child will be given a deft and DMFT score (decayed, missing, and filled teeth) for primary and permanent teeth respectively. This team will also provide a one-hour presentation on oral health and hygiene to all children between the ages of 6 and 10 years twice a year.

The program manager and staff will work from an office space within the University of Oklahoma, College of Dentistry campus. They will travel to each of the participating schools and the Oklahoma Community Health Services, Inc. to implement and evaluate the progress of the program and collect relevant data for research purposes. Read More