Through my work at Tri-County Health Network helping people with chronic disease engage in their health I was surprised to learn that tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease. It is 5 times more common than asthma and 7 times more common than hay fever but, it is highly preventable.
Another part of my job gives me the privilege of partnering with local schools to provide preventive oral healthcare through our evidenced-based mobile cavity prevention program, known as Skippy, to students.
Twice each school year children receive a limited exam, cleaning, dental sealants, fluoride varnish and oral hygiene instruction on-site at their school. Since 2008 Skippy has been removing barriers – financial, locale, workforce, time – by bringing effective oral healthcare directly to students to help prevent cavities, and we’ve been successful. For children who routinely attend Skippy, we have been able to reduce the percentage of children with untreated decay to 20% – an amazing 9% below the national average!
But Skippy isn’t perfect.
Our team has had numerous discussions with the handful of dentists, who a) are willing to see all children not just the “well-behaved” ones and b) accept Medicaid insurance. We agree that Skippy is not a replacement for a child having a true dental home, consisting of a team of dentists and hygienists working together to provide the full scope of care from preventive to restorative. But that’s not an option for those of us living in some of the most isolated, remote areas of Colorado or is it?
Enter the SMILES virtual dental home.
Spearheaded by the pioneering executives at Caring for Colorado Foundation, this 30 countywide collaborative is focused on addressing the preventive and therapeutic dental health needs of those most in need through the use of technology and a “hub and spoke” model of care.
The SMILES program relies on mobile digital x-ray imaging & cloud-based technology, partnerships between dental hygienists in the field with dentists at their office, assurances that both clinicians are practicing at the highest level of their licensure, and developing dentist directed treatment plans that ensure the right care is provided at the right place, at the right time, through the most efficient method, virtually creating a dental home.
TCHNetwork is excited to be one of the six entities that will help launch this cutting-edge initiative into our rural communities this fall. It is our hope that we can make childhood dental decay a disease of the past.
