Description

Although tooth decay is preventable, it is still the most common chronic disease among children in the United States.

The Oral Health Outreach Program was designed to provide oral health education and resources to low-income children in the 9 counties along the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Dental education is brought to elementary schools, daycare centers, and community events via the "Tooth Fairy's Helper."

The following organizations have helped the oral outreach program in its effectiveness:

• Maryland Office of Oral Health
• Dorchester County Health Department
• Eastern Maryland's Public School Districts

Program services were originally distributed by the Children's Regional Oral Health Consortium (CROC), supported by a 3-year Federal Office of Rural Health Policy's Rural Health Care Services Outreach grant. The Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center (AHEC) received funding from the Maryland Office of Oral Health to continue the program.

Services offered

• Dental education and outreach in elementary schools, daycare centers, adult medical daycare facilities, special needs schools, and community events via the Tooth Fairy's Helper.
• Dental care kits for children that include a toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, Maryland Office of Oral Health brochures for parents, and a resource list of Choptank Community Health's dental offices.
• Dental care kits are distributed to pregnant women through the Dorchester County Health department.

Results

Over 35,000 children have received oral health education through the Tooth Fairy's Helper school presentations since 2006, averaging 5,000 annually for the past several years.

Results from the 2018-2019 school year include:

• 171 presentations done by Tooth Fairy's Helper
• 6,151 total participants
• 5,234 students educated
• 5,234 dental kits distributed
• 38 schools visited (32 were Title 1)

The Eastern Shore AHEC has received countless testimonies from teachers about parents taking action to better their children's oral health because of the Tooth Fairy's Helper presentations.

In 2015-2016, surveys were distributed to teachers and students for evaluation of the Tooth Fairy's Helper presentations. These surveys were designed to provide baseline data regarding the effectiveness of the presentations, giving credibility for the Oral Health Outreach Program to qualify for evidence-based ranking.

The Oral Health Outreach Program is featured in RHIhub's Rural Oral Health Toolkit.

Challenges

Initially, lack of cooperation from teachers and principals in some schools has been the main difficulty experienced by the Oral Health Outreach Program. This may have been due to staff turnover, skepticism, a multitude of programs already scheduled for the classrooms, or simply a lack of experience with the program. Once they saw the enthusiasm from the students and positive results, it became easier to secure future dates for annual Tooth Fairy's Helper presentations.

Replication

Communities wishing to replicate this program should listen to the needs of their particular community, specifically:

• Understand how your geographic area affects access to dental care.
• Understand the health status and demographics of your target population.
• Recognize and utilize resources that already exist.

Contact Information

Caitlin Donohue-Vega, RDH, BS, Oral Health Outreach Coordinator
Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center
410.221.2600
cvega@esahec.org