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Empowering Head Start to Improve Access to Good Oral Health for Children from Low Income Families

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Abstract

Surveys over 20 years have documented worsening in the dental health of preschoolers. Healthy People 2010 Midcourse Review reports the country moving away from oral health goals for young children; the slip is 57%. Exacerbating this is the inability of Medicaid to provide for those in need. Most children receive examinations only: few receive comprehensive care. We urge Head Start grantees to adopt a new approach to oral health goals and in this paper offer: (1) a review of the problem and premises preventing a solution; (2) a proposal that Head Start adopt a public health perspective; and (3) specific roles staff and dental personnel can take to mount aggressive strategies to arrest tooth decay at the grantee site.

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Acknowledgements

Supported, in part, by Head Start Innovation and Improvement Project Grant No. 90YD0188 from the Office of Head Start, Agency for Children and Families, and Grant No. DE14254 from NIDCR, NIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Washington, Box 357475, Seattle, WA, 98195-7475, USA

    Peter Milgrom, Philip Weinstein, Janessa Graves & Ohnmar Tut

  2. University of Washington, Box 357230, Seattle, WA, 98195-7230, USA

    Colleen Huebner

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  1. Peter Milgrom
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  2. Philip Weinstein
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  3. Colleen Huebner
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  4. Janessa Graves
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  5. Ohnmar Tut
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Correspondence to Peter Milgrom.

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Milgrom, P., Weinstein, P., Huebner, C. et al. Empowering Head Start to Improve Access to Good Oral Health for Children from Low Income Families. Matern Child Health J 15, 876–882 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-008-0316-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-008-0316-6

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