ABCDE QUESTIONS

Q. Will the participating ABCDE medical providers be making referrals to dental offices? How will that happen?

A. If the medical provider feels a child needs a dental referral, the medical office will contact the Oral Health Program at the Spokane Regional Health District. The Health District will serve as the referral contact by finding a dentist for the child in question. Every attempt will be made to find a dental provider who is in close proximity to the child.

Q. How are you reaching difficult-to-serve populations and what goals do you intend to meet by reaching that population?

A. The Access to Baby and Child Dentistry “Expanded” Program is providing dental education to medical care providers throughout the entire county. This includes rural communities such as Deer Park, Medical Lake, and Cheney. It is often difficult for families outside of Spokane city limits to access transportation to medical and dental appointments.
Staff from the Oral Health Program at the Spokane Regional Health District also have the capability to reach into other counties lacking adequate dental care. The Health District has partnered with the Ronald McDonald Mobile Van to reach such populations.
Plans are currently underway to partner with such organizations as the Salvation Army to provide dental screenings, fluoride varnish applications, and dental referrals to clients utilizing and living in their facilities. Just recently, the Health District has committed to increasing dental access by participating at an Alternative school setting. Again, limited dental services will be provided with referrals to a dental office when appropriate.
The ABCDE Program is also planning to provide clinical and educational services to underserved minority populations. For instance, the local WIC Program has Russian interpreters available on scheduled days, and Oral Health Staff are often present to offer services at that time as well. By providing outreach into difficult-to-serve populations, several ABCDE goals and objectives are being met.
Dental decay is a chronic condition. The ABCDE Program aims to prevent or manage such illness. In addition, the program will be improving access to health care for infants, children and adolescents, especially those from disadvantaged communities. Delivering dental health education is another objective of the program. The Oral Health Program is educating medical providers so they, in turn, can instruct their clients. This message is then repeated at the dental office, reinforcing the fact that oral health is part of overall health. Among the provider community, measurable outcomes include the number of medical providers participating in the program and the number of services being reimbursed.

Q. Who are the partners, agencies or clinics that are working with this program?

A. The Oral Health Program of the Spokane Regional Health Department is the lead agency in the program. The program was made possible by grant monies from the Washington Dental Service Foundation and the Group Health Community Foundation. Medical offices and their staff actually perform the oral health screenings, fluoride varnish applications and dental referrals when appropriate. A strong relationship exists between the Health District and local dental providers, which allows the Health District to find a dentist for children referred from their medical offices.

Q. How is the evaluation to be completed?

A. The Spokane Regional Health District will have data to evaluate specific outcomes of the program. For example, the number of medical providers and staff that received training to participate in the program, the number of fluoride varnish applications that were applied, and the number of families who received oralhealth instruction. The University of Washington is currently working with the Health District to create further tools necessary to evaluate the program.