Intra-agency collaboration of public and private agencies through community dental health partnership: A pilot program

Background: Tooth decay is a chronic and infectious disease that can be avoided with proper home care, early preventive measures and periodic dental visits. This project, ‘WIC Smiles 4 U' is a partnership between the Health Department, WIC and community health centers to 1) expand oral health literacy of WIC staff and promote prevention 2) provide preventive dental care for underserved pregnant women, infants and children. Method: An online course was developed for WIC staff to increase their dental health literacy. A pretest questionnaire on children's dental health was administered prior to taking the course. A curriculum was adopted from existing sources. A posttest questionnaire was administered to determine learning had occurred. Dental services were provided by Community Health Center's mobile dental clinics onsite at WIC clinics. Results: Over 90% WIC staff completed the course within the first month. WIC staff demonstrated significant improvement in awareness and support for children's dental health and the importance of early preventive services. Onsite dental services included; prenatal preventive dental care, infant oral risk assessment, oral health education directed to caregivers, glass ionomer sealants, fluoride varnish, and referrals to a dental home. Conclusions: The building of intra-agency collaboration of public and private agencies through community dental health partnership yielded a significant new access point for dental services for underserved children and women enrolled in WIC. The ‘WIC Smiles 4 U' project increased awareness of oral health to overall health and well-being. The program helped to increase acceptance and adoption of effective early preventive interventions.