Abstract
Although major improvements have been made in oral health during the 20th century, many children in minority groups, from families with low-income, and with special health care needs still do not receive the oral health services that they need. To address the problem, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), working with the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), has launched the Oral Health Initiative. The initiative seeks to strengthen oral health service-delivery systems, enhance collaboration among federal agencies, and provide states with the resources needed to improve the oral health of hard-to-reach children. HRSA's activities include enhancing programs, services, and training, such as expanding the number of direct-service dental programs; establishing or enhancing graduate training programs in pediatric and general dentistry and in dental public health; and funding training programs in dentistry to train dental public health leaders.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
REFERENCES
Kaste LM, Selwitz RH, Oldakowski RJ, Brunelle JA, Winn DM, Brown LJ. Coronal caries in the primary and permanent dentition of children and adolescents 1–17 years of age: United States, 1988–1991. Journal of Dental Research 1996;75(Special Issue):631–641.
Vargas CM, Crall JJ, Schneider DA. Sociodemographic distribution of pediatric dental caries: NHANES III, 1988–1994. Journal of the American Dental Association 1998;129(9):1229–38.
Edelstein BL. 1998. NCEMCH policy brief: The cost of caring: Emergency oral health services. Arlington, VA: National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health.
Acs G, Lodolini G, Kaminsky S, Cisneros GJ. Effect of nursing caries on body weight in a pediatric population. Pediatric Dentistry 1992;14(5):302–5.
Acs G, Shulman R, Ng MW, Chussid S. The effect of dental rehabilitation on the body weight of children with early childhood caries. Pediatric Dentistry 1999;21(2):109–13.
Gift HC, Relsine ST, Larach DC. The social impact of dental problems and visits. American Journal of Public Health 1992;82(12):1663–8.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. 1996. Children's dental services under Medicaid: Access and utilization. San Francisco, CA: Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Casamassimo P. 1996. Bright futures in practice: Oral health. Arlington, VA: National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health.
Mayer R. Bright Futures ahead. Maternal and Child Health Journal 1997;1(3):195–7.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Spisak, S., Holt, K., Mayer, R. et al. Improving Children's Access to Oral Health Services: The Oral Health Initiative. Matern Child Health J 2, 261–264 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022315725053
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022315725053