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Dental Education, Training & Services
Oral Health Screenings
Access to dental care for citizens of Montana who are poor, uninsured, underinsured, and who live in rural areas of the state is a significant concern. The importance of oral health received national attention in 2000 through the Surgeon General's Report - Oral Health in America. This report stated that oral health is an essential component of overall health and well-being.
In 2001, the Montana AHEC/Office of Rural Health in affiliation with the Gallatin County Dental Alliance initiated an oral health screening program as part of its contribution to the Montana Dental Action Plan. This program is a collaborative effort between many individuals and organizations in the Gallatin Valley and surrounding areas. Montana AHEC/Office of Rural Health provides a number of facilitation and coordination services. Volunteer dentists and dental hygienists offer their time to take a quick look into students’ mouths in order to identify any early or urgent oral health care needs. Via school nurses, the parents are informed of any problems and referred to local dentists or the Gallatin Community Clinic.
The Montana AHEC/Office of Rural Health collects and maintains annual data on screenings. This program has certainly grown since its inception. In 2001, a mere 116 elementary school students were screened. In 2009, 2,571 students in the area were screened. Of those screened, 74.4% had no dental problems, 19.3% had early dental problems, and 6.3% had urgent dental problems. There is hope that the program will continue to grow as it reaches out to children in Gallatin and surrounding counties. One of the goals is to use the MT AHEC/ORH School Oral Health Screening Program as a model for use in other Montana communities.
Armed with lessons learned over the last ten years, 2011 looks to be bigger and better than ever!
Oral Health Screening Results and Reports
Click Here for 2010 results.
Click Here for the 2010 Dental Summary Report.
Program Resources:
Click to view the Oral Health Screening Guidelines.
Click to view the Oral Health Education presentation.
Click to view the 2010 "Tooth Time" presentation.
Click to view Oral Health Screening Experiments.
Contacts
Kristin Juliar, Director
406-994-6003
kjuliar@montana.edu
Sharon Kott, Administrative Associate
406-994-6002
sak@montana.edu
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