Search Results: MCHLine

Annotation: This action plan focuses on the Louisiana Oral Health Coalition’s goals related to improving the oral health of all Louisianans. It provides direction for achieving priorities set forth by stakeholders representing individual oral health champions and multiple organizations across the state. The plan describes three oral-health-promotion interventions across the state: Well Ahead Louisiana (a chronic-disease-prevention and health-care-access initiative of the Louisiana Department of Health), school dental sealant programs, and community water fluoridation. Information about the Louisiana Oral Health Coalition is provided.

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Keywords: Access to health care, Dental sealants, Fluoride, Health promotion, Louisiana, Oral health, Prevention, School health, State planning

Annotation: This fact sheet provides information for parents about fluoride varnish (FV). Topics include what FV is, why FV application is recommended for children, how to tell if a child needs FV,and at what ages FV should be applied. Also discussed is what parents should do after FV is applied to their child's teeth, the cost of FV application, the safety of FV, and how long FV lasts. The fact sheet is available in Arabic, English, and Spanish.

• English
• Spanish

Keywords: Consumer education materials, Costs, Fluoride, Non English language materials, Oral health, Prevention, Safety, Spanish language materials

Annotation: This fact sheet provides information on silver diamine fluoride (SDF) treatment. Topics include the purpose of SDF, side effects of SDF treatment, who can benefit from SDF treatment, U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance of SDF treatment, Vermont Medicaid coverage of SDF treatment, and who should not receive SDF treatment. Also included is information on how SDF treatment can prevent children under age 6 in Vermont from requiring tooth decay treatment performed under general anesthesia. The fact sheet is written in simple language.

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Keywords: Dental caries, Fluoride, Medicaid, Oral health, Prevention, State materials, Vermont

Annotation: This state oral health plan for 2022–2027 summarizes goals of the Tennessee Department of Health related to improving the oral health of Tennessee residents. The report discusses the importance of oral health, the department's past oral-health-related accomplishments, and the department's role in providing oral health care. Also discussed are access to oral health care, oral health education and advocacy, oral disease prevention, oral health resources, and the oral health workforce. The state's Healthy Smiles Initiative is described, along with the future of oral health in Tennessee.

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Keywords: Access to health care, Advocacy, Dental caries, Dental sealants, Fluoride varnish, Health education, Oral health, Prevention, Silver diamine fluoride, State initiatives, State materials, Tennessee, Workforce

Annotation: This fact sheet provides information about fluoride. It describes what fluoride is and how community fluoridated water with 0.7–1.2 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water is safe to drink and helps strengthen teeth, prevent tooth decay, and decrease the need for costly dental treatment.

• English
• Spanish

Keywords: Community health, Cost, Dental caries, Disease prevention, Drinking water, Safety, Fluoride, Oral health, Treatment

Annotation: The goal of this training for school nurses and non-oral-health professionals is to equip participants with the knowledge and tools they need to perform oral health screenings for school-age children, with a focus on identifying early signs of tooth decay. The training comprises three sections (tabs): sample letters, videos, and exam. Sample letters include a consent form, a risk-assessment report, a parent questionnaire, and a screening results letter. Videos include trainings with and without a fluoride-application component. The exam section includes a caries risk assessment, screening results letter, and an appendix of physical findings for oral health risk assessment.

• Link

Keywords: Dental caries, Fluoride, Forms, Health screening, Informed consent, Oral health, Prevention, Risk assessment, School age children, Training, Videos

Annotation: This video for consumers discusses the use of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) to treat tooth decay. It explains that SDF, unlike the traditional treatment method, is inexpensive, painless, and does not require numbing or drilling, and that non-dentists can be trained to apply it. The video also describes how tooth decay develops and its consequences and discusses the importance of good oral health and of treating decay in primary teeth. The video is available in American Sign Language, Arabic, Bosnian, Burmese, Dari, English, French, Kirundi, Haitian Creole, Maay Maay, Mandarin Chinese, Nepali, Pashto, Portuguese, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tigrinya, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

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Keywords: Access to health care, Costs, Non English language materials, Oral health, Prevention, Silver diamine fluoride, Spanish language materials, Treatment

Annotation: This fact sheet provides information about Iowa children's oral health in 2025. Information about the I-Smile program is included, along with information about Cavity Free Iowa, an initiative that promotes applying fluoride varnish to young children's teeth during well child visits. The fact sheet also describes three I-Smile videos on brushing flossing, and healthy eating. Ongoing challenges for some families seeking oral health care are discussed, and statistics on the impact of I-Smile on infants and children from birth through age 12 in 2025 are presented.

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Keywords: Data, Dental caries, Fluoride, Health care utilization, Iowa, Oral health, Prevention, Screening tests, State programs

Annotation: This brief describes the impact that a ban on community water fluoridation would have on children. It provides information on tooth decay and discusses what states could expect if water fluoridation were banned, including projected state Medicaid costs and effects on children, parents, and other adults enrolled in Medicaid. It also discusses whether using fluoridated toothpaste provides sufficient protection against tooth decay.

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Keywords: Costs, Dental caries, Fluoride, Legislation, Low income groups, Medicaid, Oral health, Prevention

Annotation: This report provides information about the impact of the Arkansas Department of Health, Office of Oral Health, on oral health in the community in 2023–2024. The report provides background information on the Office of Oral Health and discusses highlights and partnerships, impact across 75 counties, oral disease prevention, toothbrushing, fluoride varnish, dental sealants, oral health education, and media.

• 2025 Edition
• 2024 Edition

Keywords: Arkansas, Community health, Dental sealants, Disease prevention, Fluoride, Health education, Media, Oral health, State information

Annotation: This flyer provides information about state oral health programs (SOHPs). It explains what SOHPs are and what they do and discusses their impact on statewide oral health. It also offers information on how SOHPs implement and advance oral health surveillance and planning, prevention of oral disease among children, community protection (monitoring and promoting water fluoridation), workforce support, policies that promote safety and quality, and public education. Also discussed are why oral health matters and the importance of strong partnerships to improve oral health.

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Keywords: Collaboration, Community health, Fluoride, Oral health, Prevention, Programs, Public education, Public policy, Safety, Surveillance

Annotation: This brief provides information on the safety of community water fluoridation and its importance for oral health. It discusses how fluoridation improves health and reduces health-care-related costs, and it offers recommendations for protecting access to fluoridated community water.

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Keywords: Costs, Dental caries, Fluoride, Oral health, Prevention

Annotation: This series of handouts for pregnant women and parents of infants and young children provides simple tips on nutrition and oral health issues. Topics include brushing a young child’s teeth, choosing healthy drinks, encouraging children to drink water with fluoride, giving children healthy snacks, taking care of oral health for pregnant women, and taking care of an infant’s oral health. The series is written in simple language and is available in English and in Spanish. One handout, Using Silver Diamine Fluoride on Children's Teeth, is also available in Arabic, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Persian, and Somali.

• English
• Spanish

Keywords: Asian language materials, Chronic illnesses and disabilities, Consumer education materials, Fluorides, Infants, Injury prevention, Non Englishs language materials, Nutrition, Oral health, Oral hygiene, Pregnant women, Preventive health services, Spanish language materials, Special health care needs, Young children

Annotation: This manual is designed to help non-oral-health professionals implement fluoride-varnish application for infants, children, and adolescents ages 6 months to 21 years who are enrolled in Massachusetts’ Medicaid program. The manual includes instructions on how to complete the online Smiles for Life training, which is required for health professionals to apply fluoride varnish for this population. It also discusses how to begin using fluoride varnish in a practice as well as how to keep fluoride varnish notes and how to bill for fluoride varnish application. Basic information about fluoride varnish application and information to share with parents and other caregivers is included.

• Link
• Program Website

Keywords: Adolescents, Children, Clinical coding, Consumer education materials, Dental caries, Disease prevention, Fluorides, Infants, Manuals, Massachusetts, Medicaid, Oral health, Oral health care, Preventive health services, Reimbursement, Resources for professionals, Risk assessment, State programs, Training, Young adults

Annotation: This report provides information from a pilot project conducted to test guidance developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to support the implementation of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) application in pediatric settings. The report describes the pilot, presents evaluation results, and discusses obstacles to and facilitators of successful implementation, workflow changes to support implementation, early outcomes, use of AAP guidance to inform and support implementation, and the SDF pilot experience.

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Keywords: Dental caries, Oral health, Pilot projects, Prevention, Silver diamine fluoride, Treatment outcomes

Annotation: This report provides information about federal regulation of fluoride in community drinking water. It offers an overview of why fluoridating drinking water is important and discusses how doing so reduces oral health disparities. It explains federal, state, and local governments' role in fluoride regulation. It also discusses federal actions to combat the Environmental Protection Agency's potential prohibition against fluoridating drinking water and opportunities for state and local governments to respond.

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Keywords: Dental caries, Federal government, Fluoride, Legislation, Local government, Oral health, Oral health equity, Prevention, State government

Annotation: This brief provides background on community water fluoridation (CWF) and estimates the fiscal impact of removing fluoride from community water systems across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It discusses the experiences of three communities that removed fluoride from their water systems, and the decisions of two of them to re-implement CWF owing to the increased rate of tooth decay and related costs, especially among young children. Data and methods are discussed.

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Keywords: Costs, Dental caries, Fluoride, Oral health, Prevention, Public policy, Young children

Annotation: This e-book, the latest edition of Fluoridation Facts, which was first published as a physical book in 1952, answers frequently asked questions about community water fluoridation (CWF). This edition provides updated information for individuals and groups interested in the facts about fluoridation. Topics include effectiveness and benefits, safety, fluoridation practice, and public policy.

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Keywords: Community health, Fluoride, Prevention, Public policy, Safety, Tooth decay

Annotation: This report presents benefit/risk considerations related to the use of ingestible fluoride drug products in children. It includes a brief history of prescription drug products containing fluoride that have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the context in which ingestible fluoride drug products are currently being discussed. It presents an overview of sources of ingested fluoride. It also covers FDA’s analysis of key data, including an overview of recent use trends, a review of potential benefits from ingestible fluoride drug products, and a review of potential risks from such products.

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Keywords: Dental caries, Fluoride, Oral health, Prescription drugs, Prevention, Research

Annotation: This data brief explores the extent to which children with developmental disabilities receive preventive oral health care and how their use of oral health care compares to that of children without developmental disabilities. The brief provides information to support two conclusions: (1) children with developmental disabilities tend to be less likely to have had a preventive visit with an oral health professional in the past year than children without developmental disabilities and (2) preventive oral health care such as cleanings, X-rays, and fluoride treatment is provided less frequently to children with most types of developmental disabilities than to children without developmental disabilities.

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Keywords: Access to health care, Developmental disabilities, Fluoride, Health care utilization, Oral health, Prevention, Radiography, Special health care needs