NMCOHRC: Resources to Make you Smile!

By National Maternal and Child Oral Health Center (OHRC) on October 16, 2024

 

October 2024 | Issue No. 44

Ensuring Children Are Up to Date on Oral Health Care

Welcome to Resources to Make You Smile! This monthly newsletter features information and tools Head Start staff can use to help families promote good oral health. These tips help Head Start staff support families, expectant parents, and children. The newsletter also includes a recipe for a healthy snack that children can make in a Head Start classroom or at home with their families.

Photo of a boy at the dentist.

The Head Start Program Performance Standards (the Performance Standards) require programs to obtain a determination from an oral health professional about whether a child is up to date on their oral health care (45 CFR §1302.42(b)(1)(i)). This determination is based on the dental periodicity schedule prescribed by the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit of each state’s Medicaid agency.

 

Oral Exams

Oral exams conducted during the program year can identify problems that require timely and appropriate care. Head Start staff, as well as oral health professionals providing care, can also encourage parents to establish an accessible and ongoing source of oral health care for their child to help keep them healthy and ready to learn.

Resources for Head Start Staff

Ensuring Children Are Up to Date on Oral Health Services
Learn more about the Performance Standard that addresses EPSDT and the dental periodicity schedule, Child health status and care, 45 CFR §1302.42(b)(1)(i). This Brush Up on Oral Health tip sheet also discusses how Head Start programs can find and use the dental periodicity schedule for their state.

A Guide to the Dental Periodicity Schedule and Oral Exam
Read this guide to learn the difference between a dental periodicity schedule and a well-child periodicity schedule. Discover when a child’s first oral exam should occur, who can perform one, and what is included in an oral exam.

Resources for Parents

Share these Healthy Habits for Happy Smiles handouts after individual meetings or group trainings with parents to provide information about the importance of preventing and treating tooth decay, the timing of a child’s first dental visit, and what to expect during the visit:

Cook’s Corner Recipe: Monster Open-face Cheese Sandwich

 

Ingredients
4 slices whole wheat bread
4 slices hard yellow cheese (e.g., cheddar, Colby)
2-3 slices hard white cheese (e.g., Monterey Jack, provolone)
4 black olives, cut width-wise into thirds

Directions

  1. Place each bread slice on a plate.
  2. Cover bread with a slice of hard yellow cheese.
  3. Use a round cookie cutter or jar to cut the hard white cheese into small circles.
  4. Place 3 circles of hard white cheese over each slice of hard yellow cheese to form eyes.
  5. Place 1 black olive slice on each cheese circle to form eyeballs.
  6. Cut the remaining hard white cheese into teeth or other shapes and place below the eyes to form a mouth.

Makes 1 serving
Safety tip: To prevent injuries, an adult should slice ingredients.

 

Photo of a sunny orange snack.

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Send your questions or comments to the National Center on Health, Behavioral Health, and Safety at [email protected] or (toll-free) 888-227-5125.
URL: 
https://www.mchoralhealth.org/headstart/smile.php