SOUTHEASTERN CONNECTICUT ORAL HEALTH COLLABORATIVE: SMILES ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN CONNECTICUT (SMILES)

It's a match that has everyone smiling:  The Southeastern Connecticut Oral Health Collaborative works to ensure that Medicaid-enrolled Healthcare for UninSured Kids and Youth (HUSKY) children make full use of the dental services available to them, and the Connecticut Health Foundation (CT Health) helps fund the collaborative effort.

Underuse of dental services by HUSKY-enrolled children is a significant Connecticut oral health problem caused by a variety of obstacles, including reimbursement rates and uneven distribution of dentists statewide.  Low reimbursement rates also make it difficult to retain dentists who accept HUSKY insurance.

CHF helped the collaborative address these problems with a five-year $800,000 grant in 2003.  The collaborative, which was formed in 2001 to address the underutilization problem, used the funds to create a mobile program that brings dental care to area schools.

"Offering preventive dental services in schools has enabled many more children in New London County access dental services in a comfortable and familiar setting," says Sue Peters, SMILES project director when the grant was issued.  "Most of the children have not previously received regular preventive visits.  The in-school programs provide a way for children to receive a preventive dental visit each school year."

The program is staffed by hygienists from Community Health Center, Inc. and United Community & Family, two federally qualified health centers that accept HUSKY insurance.  Along with delivering preventive care, the hygienists educate students about home care.

Uninsured children pay only $30 per visit and those needing treatment for oral disease are referred to the health centers.  The shared goal of the SMILES project and CHF is to double the number of HUSKY-insured children treated by 2008.

This program is in 83 schools in 16 of the 21 towns in New London County and serves 40,000 children.  In the 2007-08 school year, 2,105 children used these services, an increase of 778 children from 2006-07.

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