MVHI Receives Grant for School Oral Health Project

CANAAN – The Mascoma Valley Health Initiative (MVHI), in partnership with Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital (APD), has received a Healthy People 2020 Community Innovations Project Grant to provide dental services, community outreach, and oral health education in Mascoma Valley schools.

The Mascoma Valley SMILES Project is built upon the foundation of the hospital’s existing Upper Valley SMILES school dental program, and is an effort to target a broader age group, provide additional health education, and market services to more young people in a region with a clear need for oral health intervention. Our key partners in this project are: APD, Department of Community Health; Mascoma Valley Regional School District; and the CHaD Pediatric Residency Program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC).

Upper Valley residents that participated in MVHI’s 2010-2011 community needs assessment process identified oral health care as one of their top priority health needs. Numerous data show that much of our population has poor oral health and experiences significant barriers to accessing dental care.

Screenings conducted by the Upper Valley SMILES program in the 2010-11 school year found untreated tooth decay in 22% of children in grades K-3.

Hospital emergency department visits for dental conditions are an indicator of insufficient access to dental care. At APD and DHMC, dental ED visits have increased dramatically in recent years.

The Mascoma Valley does not have a local dental practice, and residents must travel as far as 20 miles to see a dentist. Few dentists are accepting new  Medicaid patients.

The hospital’s dental staff will offer a free dental screening to all students in grades K-3 and 5-12 regardless of dental coverage status. Free preventive treatment will be offered to students who have no dental coverage, dental home, or who have not had a dental visit in over two years. Free treatment will also be offered to students who are enrolled in Medicaid but who are in need of sealants.

The school-based education and community outreach aspects of the project will reach all students in the schools, parents, and other community members in an effort to improve awareness of the benefits of good oral hygiene for all.

Currently, a dental hygienist gives classroom oral health education to Mascoma students in grades K-3 With this project, MVHI staff and DHMC residents will engage in oral health education for middle school students (grades 5-8) and high school students (grades 9-12).

Grant funding for this project is provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and administered by John Snow, Inc.