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Michigan Among 21 States to Receive Funds for Oral Disease Prevention Programs
September 20, 2013
LANSING – The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) Oral Health Program is one of 21 recipients awarded a ‘State Oral Disease Prevention Programs’ grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The goal of this grant program is to assist state health departments in improving the oral health of their state residents, in particular those children and adults who are most at risk for oral diseases such as tooth decay or cavities.
“Michigan’s Oral Health Program has partnered with the CDC for more than ten years in an effort to improve the overall health and wellness of Michigan residents,” said James K. Haveman, Director of the MDCH. “This funding allows the Oral Health Program to continue to work towards reducing the incidence and prevalence of dental disease, which impacts overall health, within our communities.”
Three states—Hawaii, Idaho, and New Hampshire—have been awarded grants averaging $230,000 under the program’s entry-level component, “Basic Capacity for Collective Impact.” An additional 18 states that have more advanced oral health programs have received grants averaging $310,000 under “Implementation of Evidence-based Community Preventive Interventions and Access to Clinical Preventive Services.” These states are Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The grants are renewable for up to five years.
For all states, the grant is designed to improve basic state oral health services, including support for program leadership and additional staff, monitoring oral disease levels and risk factors for oral disease, developing strong partnerships, educating state residents on ways to prevent oral diseases, and developing and evaluating prevention programs. States with more advanced programs also may work to increase delivery of dental sealants for children in low-income and/or rural schools; increase the proportion of the population with access to fluoridated water; increase the percentage of state residents who use the oral health care system; and increase the percentage of low-income children and adolescents who receive a preventive dental service.
With these grant funds, Michigan plans to enhance and sustain the expansion of the SEAL! Michigan school-based dental sealant program, enhance the Community Water Fluoridation program to address the health and safety promotion of community water fluoridation and implement preventive programs to enhance access to oral health services.
For more information about oral health, visit the CDC’s website at www.cdc.gov/oralhealth or Michigan’s Oral Health Program website at www.michigan.gov/oralhealth.
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