Dr. Norma Desjardins has been a general dentist in Presque Isle
for 29 years and is the founding executive director of St. Apollonia
Dental Clinic, a nonprofit dental center serving children and families
in Aroostook County. She is vice president of the Maine Dental
Association. Dr. Erica Hidu is a graduate of the Tufts University School
of Medicine’s Maine Track Program. She is currently an internal
medicine and pediatrics resident physician in Portland and is an active
member of the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Most of us don’t consider the effect of oral health on our overall
health and well-being — until we have a problem with our oral health.
The mouth is the gateway to the body and what happens in our mouth can
affect the rest of our body. This can range from people with diabetes
struggling to maintain healthy blood sugar levels to infections
spreading from the mouth to other parts of the body. As a pediatrician
and a dentist, we know the health of the mouth is a key part of overall
health; however, getting regular preventive dental care is a challenge
for many children in Maine.
We see children in our offices with dental disease that ranges from
one simple cavity to more complex cases of almost every tooth having a
cavity. On the other hand, we also see many children who have good oral
health — and this is what we want for every child. In order to reach
every child early with the services needed to help prevent dental
disease, we must bring prevention and oral health education to where the
children are.
Brushing, flossing and maintaining tooth friendly nutrition habits at
home are certainly an important part of oral health care, but making
sure young people can get services like fluoride varnish and sealants
from a dental professional also has a major impact. Unfortunately, for
too many families, securing time off from work, finding a local dentist
to see their children and being able to afford the care their children
need are all barriers that prevent children from getting this essential
health care.
One important element of the solution is the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s School Oral Health Program,
which brings oral health screenings, fluoride varnish and sealants
right to students where they already are: in school. These oral health
services are well-proven to prevent cavities and help children grow up
without dental decay. Unfortunately, the program currently serves only
about a third of schools in the state. With limited resources the state
has had to limit eligibility
to elementary schools with more than 40 percent of their students
receiving free and reduced lunch. Nonetheless, there are students at
every school in the state who would benefit from receiving these
essential services in the school setting.
This year the legislature has the opportunity to expand school oral health services to all students across Maine. LD 1501,
An Act to Protect Oral Health for Children in Maine, opens eligibility
for the School Oral Health Program so that all schools can participate.
The bill would also restore a much-needed oral health coordinator
position at the Maine CDC to ensure the program’s effectiveness and
data-driven approach, as well as provide public health leadership on
oral health issues for all ages in Maine. In 2012, Maine CDC’s Oral
Health Program had four staff, but after years of budget and staff cuts,
the last remaining position was eliminated seven years ago. Finally,
the bill directs the state to begin to explore how to fund these
services in a way that maximizes federal Medicaid dollars, which can
bring in about $2.50 in federal funds for every $1 the state spends on
children’s dental care.
Good oral health is linked
to better educational achievements and better employment opportunities
as adults. A healthy smile is truly critical to long-term success. As
the Legislature considers the governor’s budget, which extends
MaineCare’s preventive dental benefits to adults and allows for
much-needed rate increases, LD 1501 is a complementary solution to
ensure thousands of children in Maine can get the care they need to
protect their oral, and overall health.
We encourage the Legislature to support the passage of LD 1501 to
help all children in Maine grow up free from preventable dental disease.
Oral health is health, and all Maine children deserve the best healthy start we can give them.