Community-based fluoride varnish program

Description The oral health demonstration project was developed to address critical threats of pediatric oral healthcare issues in the District of Columbia. Via a mobile unit, nearly 1500 children received free oral health screenings, education, incentives and fluoride varnish applications. The intervention was implemented to determine the best practice model for a sustainable intervention. Method: The project was designed to reduce the incidence of dental cavities in children ages 0-8 in high-risk populations by providing preventive education to parents, fluoride varnish applications to children, and linking families to a dental home. Staff traveled to Head Start Centers, community events, health centers, public schools, and a dental clinic to provide the service. Each child was offered 3 applications at no cost that were administered in 2-3 month intervals. At each visit the child received an oral health screening, fluoride varnish application, and incentives. Results: The program applied 1,926 fluoride varnish applications to 1,493 unique families within a 12 month period. There were 15 educational sessions conducted for parents and staff participating in the program. An oral health coalition was established to address inadequate dental services and to advocate for policy changes surrounding Medicaid reimbursements. While the program can be implemented successfully in several models explored, the Head Start model proved to be the best practice approach for this fluoride varnish intervention. The program has been transitioned to the hospital's dental program to provide ongoing comprehensive services to children in the program.