Oral health is vital to the health and well-being of pregnant women, children, adolescents, young adults, and families. Common problems include tooth decay (dental caries or cavities), and gingivitis (inflammation of the gums). These are preventable with routine oral health care, early detection, proper diet, and appropriate management.
Our Work in This Area
To improve oral health, we want to:
- Increase access to preventive services
- Foster an integrated workforce
- Achieve health equity
To achieve oral health equity, we need to:
- Integrate oral health within the rest of the health care system
- Provide culturally sensitive and cost-effective preventive care
- Empower communities and people to follow recommendations for good oral health and overall health
Our Approach
At the state and local levels, MCHB invests in three primary strategies:
- Test promising models for the integration of oral health into primary care and safety-net settings. Safety-net settings are clinical settings for people with limited or no access to health care due to their financial circumstances, insurance status, or health condition
- Provide tailored assistance to stakeholders so that they can promote access to and use of preventive oral health services
- Develop and share new and reliable resources and guidance for administrators, health professionals, educators, and policymakers
We invest in these strategies to:
- Identify gaps and barriers within a state’s system of services to integrate preventive oral health care
- Support quality improvements in the systems of services
- Raise awareness, knowledge, and skills of stakeholders who can put theory into practice
Resources for MCH and Oral Health Programs
The National Maternal & Child Oral Health Resource Center responds to the resource needs of professionals working in states and communities, with the goal of improving oral health care for women, children, and their families. Key resources include:
- The Oral Health Learning Cafe (Webinars)
- Oral Health Quality Indicators for the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Population Indicators
- Oral Health Care During Pregnancy: A National Consensus Statement
- Bright Futures: Oral Health – Pocket Guide, 3rd Edition
- Special Care (Curriculum): An Oral Health Professional’s Guide to Serving Children with Special Health Care Needs, 2nd Edition
- Consumer Materials in English and Other Languages
Key publications
- Evaluation of a Comprehensive Oral Health Services Program in School-Based Health Centers – Maternal and Child Health Journal (2018)
- Oral Health Among Children and Youth With Special Health Care Needs – Pediatrics (2021)
- Preventive Oral Health Care Use and Oral Health Status Among US children: 2016 National Survey of Children's Health (PDF - 347 KB) – Journal of American Dental Association (2019)
Funding Details
We invest $5.25 million dollars to accomplish our work in this area. Our current program investments are:
- The National Maternal and Child Health Consortium for Oral Health Systems Integration and Improvement (COHSII) (2021 archived Notice of Funding Opportunity)
- COHSII is a national partnership serving the public health community by providing high-quality oral health technical assistance, training, and resources through services to state Title V (MCH) programs and MCHB-funded oral health projects
- The goal of COHSII is to strengthen systems of care serving MCH populations to reduce oral health disparities. COHSII’s three core tasks are:
- identify gaps and barriers
- improve systems of care
- translate evidence to practice
- Networks for Oral Health Integration (NOHI) Within the Maternal and Child Health Safety Net (2019 archived Notice of Funding Opportunity)
- The NOHI Program provides funding to three distinct Networks that each develop, implement, and evaluate a model of care that enables the integration of preventive oral health care and primary care services within MCH safety-net settings
Contact Us
Pamella Vodicka, M.S., R.D.
CAPT, United States Public Health Service
Senior Public Health Analyst