Healthy People 2020 and The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act/PHE4095 WEEK 5 DISCUSSON

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Make a Child’s Smile A Community-Based Program The Make a Child’s Smile program is a fitting example of how a community responded to key findings that were discovered after conducting an oral health survey of third grade children in the state of Mississippi.

In the school year 2009–2010, the Mississippi State Department of Health conducted an oral health survey of third grade children called the Every Smile Counts Oral Health Survey, 2010. The survey found that dental decay was a significant problem for the children of Mississippi and that many children did not get the dental care that they needed.

In response to these findings, the MSDH established the Make a Child’s Smile program.

The Oral and Health Division of the MSDH partnered with Mississippi Head Start to provide dental screening, at no additional cost, for children enrolled in the existing Head Start program.

To participate in the program, a child’s parents or legal guardian has to simply fill out the dental history form as well as the parental consent form and submit it to the child’s Head Start teacher. A licensed dental hygienist then performs a dental screening. This screening may identify a problem, which may be in the early stages, or some type of disease condition that needs further evaluation by a dentist.

Once the dental screening is completed, the child receives an application of a thin coating of fluoride varnish to prevent dental decay. The results of the child’s dental screening are then given to the parents.

Since its establishment, the Make a Child’s Smile program has reached hundreds of children in the state of Mississippi, working toward happier smiles.

References:

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH). (2012). The oral health of Mississippi’s third grade children 2009–2010 school year. Retrieved from http://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/1713.pdf

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Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH). (n.d.). Make a child’s smile. Retrieved from http://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/43,0,151,479.html