The SMILES Dental Project aligns with this year’s NCDHM campaign by piloting a new health care delivery system that’s designed to promote and ensure improved oral health across Colorado.
“Statewide, we see big disparities in oral health and overall health due to a lack of health literacy,” says, William Bailey, DDS, MPH and advisor to the SMILES Dental Project. “Other major barriers to maintaining oral health are cost and a lack of access to reliable care.
“The SMILES initiative breaks down barriers like these by introducing a new delivery system that works around the very real obstacles of children, families, individuals and seniors who live in remote, rural or lower-income communities.”
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| William Bailey, DDS, MPH |
Continues Dr. Bailey, Delta Dental Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Caries Prevention and professor at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine: “The traditional system works well for about two-thirds of people. But there’s a whole other population for whom it doesn’t work – from availability and proximity of care to knowing how to navigate the system to cultural aspects of feeling comfortable visiting a doctor’s office.”
Accordingly, the SMILES Dental Project brings care directly to the places where people live and work (e.g., childcare centers and schools, long-term care facilities, etc.).
“Instead of people needing to find ways to visit a private practice that’s too far away, if at all, SMILES brings dental services to the settings they live in,” explains Dr. Bailey. “With this approach, you build credibility and trust within a community, and you know where to find people to make sure they receive any needed follow-up care. It’s a means to establish dental care management over time.”
Circling back to this month’s national focus on children, Dr. Bailey stresses the project’s emphasis on preventive care and effective disease management. “Let’s say you’re in a setting where children are at a higher risk of tooth decay. You’re going to catch signs of decay early – white spots or other discoloration – and be able to intervene before a cavity develops.
“Say you put fluoride varnish on those white spots, two to three times a year. That means you’re going to stay in touch with that child and his or her family, and go to them to provide care and manage disease over time.”
According to Dr. Bailey, bringing care directly to the people who need it most is the “beauty” of the SMILES Dental Project. “SMILES ensures that everyone gets their dental exams, x-rays, cleanings and other preventive services,” he says. “And for those individuals who need more advanced care, there’s a clear path to getting the services they need.”
What’s at stake? Dr. Bailey reminds us that – by the time they reach kindergarten – fully 40 percent of all Colorado children have experienced some degree of dental decay, with children from lower-income communities twice as vulnerable.
“Too often, parents haven’t learned the importance of healthy baby teeth,” he says. “They think primary teeth, or baby teeth, don’t matter because they’re going to fall out eventually.
“But the biggest predictor of decay in permanent teeth is previous decay in primary teeth. And when baby teeth are lost prematurely, it can cause drift in permanent teeth. We need to make parents and caretakers aware of the risks, and how to keep kids healthy.”
Dr. Bailey says the SMILES Dental Project is innovative in its approach to address health disparities as part of a larger, coordinated system of care that includes water fluoridation, and integration of oral health with overall health care.
“In more than 30 years, I’ve seen lots of different approaches to improve the ways in which we provide and receive care,” he concludes. “The SMILES Dental Project excites me the most. It has greater potential than anything I’ve seen. It’s truly a paradigm shift that has broad applications beyond our current scope.”
“In more than 30 years, I’ve seen lots of different approaches to improve the ways in which we provide and receive care,” he concludes. “The SMILES Dental Project excites me the most. It has greater potential than anything I’ve seen. It’s truly a paradigm shift that has broad applications beyond our current scope.”
