"We make

a special effort to reach children in preschools and elementary schools

who qualify for the school lunch program or don't have dental insurance

or access to a dentist," said Alderman. "We want to teach them

that you shouldn't wait until you have a toothache before going to the

dentist. Some of the children we see in rural areas had never been to

a dentist before we started to visit their school."

DHR's Georgia

Oral Health Prevention Program uses portable dental equipment to bring

children services such as dental sealants and fluoride rinses to prevent

cavities; cleaning and examinations; and referrals to public and private

dentists for treatment, in addition to prevention education. Eleven mobile

dental trailers and vans are in the field, up from two vans in 2000. Public

Health also treats children in public health clinics in 36 counties, some

paid for in part by county and municipal funds.

"Children

with dental disease and toothache miss a lot of school," Alderman

said. "Teachers have told us that, in Georgia, dental and vision

problems are the most frequent reasons given for absences. This has a

big impact on the future of low-income children, who are 80 percent more

likely to have dental disease. Recent research also shows links between

poor oral health and other serious health problems such as heart disease,

diabetes, and asthma. Almost a third of tooth decay among poor children

goes untreated in this country. We hope to change that in Georgia with

our expanded program."

The program

served 180,863 children during FY 2002, compared to 82,253 in 2000, just

after the program suffered staff reductions and was being considered for

termination. The legislature's decision to fund the service statewide

turned it around, but even an expanded state staff can meet only part

of the need for dental care for low-income children.

"One key

to making our program effective is cooperation among public health departments,

community health centers, private dentists, and schools," said Alderman.

"It's a paradox that in Georgia we actually have many resources for

improving health care in rural areas, but in the past they have not been

well coordinated and dental health often was not included in efforts to

correct this situation. We have been working on ways to form better partnerships

among everyone involved, including an oral health care 'summit' last September."

The Georgia

Dental Association called Georgia's program "one of the oldest and

most dynamic dental public health programs in the nation. The official

state dental public health program was established in 1928, and will enjoy

its 75th anniversary in 2003." (GDA Action, February 2002)

For additional

information, visit www.health.state.ga.us/programs/oral.

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