CHILDREN'S ORAL HEALTH

The goal of the oral health initiative is to improve the oral health of children covered by Medicaid.  Over the next 10 years, the foundation will: 1. Increase use of preventive and treatment visits to the levels achieved by children insured in the private sector; 2. Identify and promote models of care that improve oral health outcomes for children covered by Medicaid in our funded communities.

CT Health's concern stems from the fact that tooth decay is the most common chronic disease among children in the United States and also is among the most preventable. Nationally, tooth decay is five times more common than asthma and 80 percent of dental disease is found in just 25 percent of children.

However, dental care is far less available than access to other kinds of medical care, especially for children that are eligible for HUSKY, Connecticut’s Medicaid program for low-income children.

In 2001, the foundation (in partnership with the Children’s Fund of Connecticut) commissioned a comprehensive report entitled,  Elements of Effective Action to Improve Oral Health and Access to Dental Care for Connecticut’s Children and Families. This report included specific recommendations for improving oral health care access, quality and utilization, and the foundation is supporting several of them.

By encouraging a coordinated delivery system at the state and local level in the eight largest urban areas – Hartford-East Hartford, New Britain, Waterbury, New Haven, Bridgeport, New London County, Danbury and Stamford – CT Health hopes to increase by 100 percent over the next five years the use of dental health services among HUSKY children.


Related links:

Medicaid Dental Carve-Out Report

Increasing Access to Dental Care Through Public/Private Partnerships: Contracting Between Private Dentists and Federally Qualified Health Centers (A Handbook)

Elements of Effective Action to Improve Oral Health & Access to Dental Care for Connecticut's Children & Families