Key Accomplishments

 

  • Developing keystone documents:

 

CDHP collaborated as a member of the MCHB Perinatal Oral Health Workgroup in the development of three key documents for national dissemination:

 

    • Oral Health Care During Pregnancy: A Summary of Practice Guidelines
    • Access to Oral Health Care During the Perinatal Period: A Policy Brief
    • Two Healthy Smiles: Tips to Keep You and Your Baby Healthy

 

The documents are significant because they provide existing evidence to support the safety and importance of oral health care during pregnancy for providers (all health providers, prenatal health providers, and oral health providers), policymakers, and pregnant women.  They also address barriers to care and provide strategies for greater coordination among providers and for utilizing opportunities to improve access to care for pregnant women.

 

The document Oral Health Care During Pregnancy: A Summary of Practice Guidelines is an abridged version of the only state-level practice guidelines for oral health care during pregnancy, developed by the New York State Department of Health in 2006. The document serves as a user-friendly resource for prenatal and oral health providers in providing treatment and referrals to care for pregnant women. It includes a referral form as well as information on the safety of care and guidance for providing treatment at various stages of pregnancy, and shares guidance to give to families on maintaining oral health.

 

The MCHB Perinatal Oral Health Workgroup, convened in 2007, included representatives of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, AAPD, the American Dental Association, the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center, and others. In addition to developing keystone documents for national dissemination, the workgroup convened the Improving Perinatal Oral Health: Moving Forward meeting of national stakeholders in 2008 to build partnerships to improve the oral health status of pregnant women and to identify areas of collaboration and pursue innovative approaches.

 

 

 

  • Exploring methods of parent education and involving non-dental providers: 

 

CDHP managed and evaluated a pilot program to involve pediatricians and others providers in oral health and to educate new parents about how to prevent tooth decay. 

 

The Teaching Early Awareness of Child Health (TEACH) project operated in 2007 and sought to strengthen the link between medicine and dentistry and improve access to oral health care for underserved populations. It investigated whether pediatric providers would be more aware of oral health issues if they were charged with giving “oral health kits” to new parents.  The study assessed whether providers’ likelihood of adopting oral health counseling as part of subsequent well-child visits would similarly increase. It also assessed providers’ perception that the intervention would positively affect caregivers’ oral health behavior for themselves and their children. Data have been collected and a summary report will be released in summer 2009.   The four sites included:

 

                        Columbia University Medical Center

                        Ohio State University Children’s Hospital

                        University of Tennessee/Crittenden Memorial Hospital

                        University of Washington Medical Center

 

The study was funded by the Healthy Smiles, Healthy Children (the Foundation of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry) in collaboration with Henry Schein, Inc.

 

  • Reinforcing Provider Awareness:  A series of articles for pediatric dentists began in November 2008.   Printed in Pediatric Dentistry Today, the membership newsletter of the AAPD, and authored by members of the AAPD Committee on Perinatal and Infant Oral Health, the articles provide information and tools for providers on ways to increase efforts in preventing tooth decay in young children. 

 

  • The series includes:

 

Improving Perinatal and Infant Oral Health, Dr. Ned Savide and Jessie Buerlein, November 2008

 

What’s Driving Infant Oral Health, Dr. Paul Casamassimo, March 2009

 

Promoting Oral Health During Pregnancy, Dr. Sara Filstrup, May 2009

 

Upcoming articles will address risk assessment, cultural competency, protocols for perinatal and infant oral health, and making the business case for incorporating the age one visit into practice.

 

  • Education to Maternal and Child Health Audiences, including Parents: providing resources on the infectious and transmissible nature of dental caries. Partners include Today’s Child Magazine, National Healthy Start Association, What to Expect Foundation- Baby Basics Program, Parents Magazine, and others.

 

•         Provision of clinical guidance: development and facilitation of continuing education courses and presentations on perinatal and infant oral health for dental providers, developed and presented by the AAPD Committee on Perinatal and Infant Oral Health members.

 

•         Recommendations for dental school curriculum: development and implementation of a pre-doctoral dental school survey of infant and toddler oral health curricula, and promotion of perinatal and infant oral health components in dental school curriculum and accreditation standards.

 

•         Outreach and parent education events: provided throughout the year and for National Children’s Dental Health Month in February, to maternal and child health organizations, including the House and Senate Child Care Centers. 

 

 

•          Provision of technical assistance and consultation: on promoting perinatal and infant oral health. This includes materials distributed to pediatric dentists, hygienists, and other providers, materials and guidance on promoting oral health on a community-level to philanthropic organizations, assistance to local organizations seeking grant funding for oral health programs, assistance to fellow AIM grantees on developments in perinatal and infant oral health and clinical guidance, assistance to community health centers and county and city health departments, consultation on AAPD clinical guidance to Parents Magazine, provision of resources to students, and dissemination of resources to parents on accessing care, among others.

 

 

  • Exploring new, nontraditional collaborative relationships to raise awareness of the importance of perinatal and infant oral health among diverse audiences. Examples include incorporating oral health components in an American Bar Association guide for judges interacting with children in the child welfare system, and providing guidance on oral health services for the National Business Group on Health’s Employer Toolkit for Investing in Maternal and Child Health.