Parents and Families

Prepare Your Child for Success in School

Dental problems can be painful and make it difficult for children to pay attention in school and can cause problems with eating, sleeping, speaking, and even their behavior.   That’s why Michigan created the Kindergarten Oral Health Assessment Program (KOHA) – to help make sure children have a healthy mouth, ready to learn and succeed in school.  Your child will benefit from having a dental assessment (screening) to check for any dental problems that need to be fixed so that they are ready for school.

Facts About Kindergarten Dental Assessments

• It’s easy to get your child screened.  Local health departments provide the screenings before the start of kindergarten at places like preschools, school registration events, community events and within schools during the kindergarten school year. Check with your child’s school to find out when the health department will be screening at the school or check with your local health department for their schedule.  Or, you can have your dentist do the screening -- just take the KOHA Assessment Form to your dentist to have them fill out and then return a copy to the school.  
• There is no cost for the dental assessment.  There is no cost to you if the local health department does the assessment.
• A dental assessment is simple and fast.  A dental professional will look into your child’s mouth and note what they see on the KOHA Assessment Form.   No treatment is done -- it’s simply a quick look in the mouth.  They will let you know if your child needs to see a dentist. 
• Help is available.  Your local health department can help you find a dentist if you don’t have one.  Your child may be eligible for the Michigan Healthy Kids Dental program if they don’t have dental insurance. 

The program is available in most Michigan counties.  This map shows where KOHA is operating in the 2025-2026 school year:

Resources 

• Parent Flyer
  • Translated Materials:
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• Michigan Healthy Kids Dental Brochure
• KOHA Assessment Form (MDHHS-6067)
• KOHA Assessment Form (MDHHS-6067-SP)

Contact

MDHHS-KOHA@michigan.gov