The ACCESS Community Health and Research Center (CHRC) received special recognition on June 13 from the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) and the Delta Dental Foundation for its commitment to providing oral health care to children in the Dearborn area.
The CHRC’s Child and Adolescent Health Center launched Michigan’s first school-linked dental sealant/care pilot program on Feb. 3 thanks to a partnership with MDCH, the School-Community Health Alliance of Michigan (SCHA-MI) and funding from the Delta Dental Foundation.
With tooth decay as the number one chronic childhood disease in the United States, the pilot program is designed to improve oral health and prevent decay by providing children between the ages of 10 and 21 from Dearborn Public Schools, area charter schools and private schools with dental screenings, sealants and follow-up care.
“We are thrilled to be able to provide dental care and sealants to the children of our community,” said Mona Farroukh, ACCESS Child and Adolescent Health Center supervisor. “The addition of dental services completes our catalog of preventive services we provide to our youth. With this program, the families of this community are able to be educated, knowledgeable and receive services that otherwise would never be available to them.”
Studies have found that states with school-linked dental sealant programs have significantly reduced rates of dental decay among high-risk children. For this reason, ACCESS partnered with MDCH and SCHA-MI to design a pilot program that paired a dental sealant program with a school-linked health center.
“Dental sealants are an evidenced-based method of preventing dental decay and are quick, easy and painless to apply,” said James K. Haveman, director of the Michigan Department of Community Health.
“Through our partnership with the Delta Dental Foundation and community organizations such as ACCESS, we are focused on providing dental sealants to students through SEAL! Michigan to help parents protect their children’s oral and overall health in an affordable and convenient way.”
