State and Local Health Policies and Programs
Vermont's Tooth Tutor Dental Access Program
A Description from the
Vermont Department of Health
A brief synopsis of Vermont's model - the Tooth Tutor Dental Access Program.
The program was developed in response to school nurses who wanted to
spend funds for dental health but wanted school-wide screenings, classroom
dental health education and toothbrushes for everybody. We helped them
to see that ultimately getting every child into a dental home could
answer all these needs - by targeting children, eventually the target
group would only include new students to the school.
The Tooth Tutor Dental Access Program was developed to give schools
a realistic and effective approach to improving dental health through
education, prevention, and by assisting children without a regular dentist
to find a dental home. School districts that consider dental health
and access to care to be a priority can use EPSDT reinvestment money
to hire a dental hygienist or other health professional to carry out
the Tooth Tutor Dental Access Program. The essential parts and summaries
follow.
- Grades 1-6 are encouraged to participate in the Fluoride Mouthrinse
Program if the students in the school are not drinking fluoridated
water. Studies show that new decay can be reduced by up to 30% by
rinsing weekly with a 0.2% sodium fluoride mouthrinse solution. The
Vermont Department of Health provides training and all supplies free
of charge.
- Establish rapport with the local community dentists explaining
the Tooth Tutor Program. The Target group may need assistance
in locating a dental home. The dental hygienist introduces him/herself
to area dentists and their offices to help in the facilitation of
receiving an appointment. As a result of the visual exam the dental
hygienist is able to provide information on the student's dental status
being either a preventive, restorative or emergency appointment.
- A paper screening on all of the children will determine which
do not have a dental home. Information for the paper screening
is ideally obtained from the student's school health history. The
target group children are those who do not have a dentist, or have
not been in the last year or have provided no information. A Dental
Fact Sheet, Something to Smile About, is sent home providing
parents with information about regular check-ups, fluoride and sealants.
- The visual screening is ONLY for children without a dental home.
They will require continuous follow-up, which will involve contacting
and receiving permission from the parents/guardians. There are samples
of referral forms, letters and the Dental Fact Sheet, Something
to Smile About, in the Tooth Tutor Manual to guide the
hygienist through this process. The Vermont Department of Health provides
all visual-screening supplies. Even the children without permission
for a visual screening are still part of the target group until they
have a dental home.
- The Tooth Tutor classroom dental health education is for grades
K-6. The Vermont Department of Health provides the Tooth Tutor
Curriculum and all the supplies. The supplies include a canvas tooth
tote, 3 videos, a large tooth model and demo toothbrush, a storybook
for the kindergarten level, toothbrushes for first grade, floss for
third grade, a mouthguard sample for fifth grade and lesson plans
for all levels including transparencies, experiments and parent information.
The intent of the Tooth Tutor Dental Access Program is to place most
of its resources toward children who do not have a dentist. The goal
of this program is to promote a dental intervention program that will
increase the number of children receiving oral preventive services and
routine care in a dental office. All of the children will benefit through
the Fluoride Mouthrinse Program and Tooth Tutor curriculum.
Vermont has 58 schools participating, which is approximately 20% of
its elementary schools. In school year 2000/01 75% of the students had
a dental home in September - this grew to 89% in June. Preventive care
only cases were 56% of the Target group, 34% needed restorative care
and 9% needed emergency care.
Summary provided by:
Rebecca J. MacDonald, RDH
Dental Health Education Coordinator
Dental Health Services
Vermont Department of Health
P.O. Box 70 108 Cherry Street
Burlington, VT 05401
Tel: 802-863-7341 M-F
Fax: 802-651-1634
e-mail rmacdon@vdh.state.vt.us
