SPRING 2015 UPDATE: U.P. Wide Smiles Project Flourishing

SPRING 2015 UPDATE: U.P. Wide Smiles project flourishing

Last fall, the Superior Health Foundation funded the “U.P. Wide Smiles” project, an initiative developed through a collaboration of all six U.P. health departments. The goals of the project are to support oral health for all area children byfocusing on prevention. The project will broaden awareness about oral health issues, increase access to fluoride varnish for children 0-5 years, establish school-based fluoride rinse programs for children in K-5th grades, link children with dental homes and build collaborative networks to address oral health needs across the U.P. going forward.

The project is off to a great start! Local media have been wonderfully receptive to monthly press releases on oral health. There have been multiple TV spots about oral health prevention and the U.P. Wide Smiles on WLUC TV6, WJMN TV 3 and WBUP 5 &10. Print articles have appeared in papers across the U.P., such as theEscanaba Daily Press, Ontonagon Herald, The Mining Journal and the Iron Mountain Daily News, to name a few. Networks are growing daily as project staff work with parents, schools, provider offices, hospitals, Head Starts and childcare centers, dentists/dental societies and other organizations.

During February, National Children’s Dental Health Month,links to free oral health resources including brochures, posters, and videos were made available to relevant organizations such as intermediate school districts, Head Starts, and Great Start Collaboratives.

By June of this year, all six U.P. health departments will have established active fluoride varnish programs. In addition, six hygienists across the U.P. have now been recruited and trained to work with primary care medical offices serving children. These offices are all being offered assistance to establish fluoride varnish programs for infants and toddlers. Nearly all medical practices contacted to date have been very interested in the project and the hygienists are busy scheduling trainings.Congratulations go to the first group trained and ready to go: the Upper Great Lakes Family Health Center (UGLFHC) practices in Houghton County. UGLFHC now has 12 provider offices beginning implementation. Currently, hygienists have another 10 practices scheduled for training across the U.P., with many more to come.

Meanwhile, health educators at all six U.P. health departments have now received extensive training in oral health and the use of fluoride rinse in the school setting. They are out and about in their communities working with elementary schools and the parent groups at those schools, to establish rinse programs. At this time, 19 schools are already up and running with another 11 signed up to start in the Fall. Health educators will be recruiting and training more schools over the next seven months, with a goal of having rinse programs securely established in all interested schools by September, 2015.

In all of these settings, the importance of linking children with a dental home is being emphasized and facilitated so that all children can receive the comprehensive dental care they need. So, oral health for children is improving every day in the U.P. thanks to the “U.P.Wide Smiles” project and the Superior Health Foundation. The benefits of thisinitiative will be felt for years to come.