April 08, 2004

By: Elizabeth Jones
Website: http://www.teeth-whitening-smiles.com

Dental Health – New Funding Available To Help Residents Afford Proper Dental Care

Governor Bill Owens Monday announced that Colorado has received a $160,485 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to further strengthen the state's oral health programs and to expand work to reduce inequities in the oral health care of the state's residents.

The Colorado grant was among grants totaling $1.4 million awarded to seven states, including Alaska, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Texas.

The Colorado grant will be used by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Oral Health Program to establish a system for tracking trends in oral health problems in the state, including the level of tooth decay among the state's children; the number of cases of oral cancer; and the number of babies born in Colorado with conditions such as cleft lips or cleft palates.

Owens said, This grant will be very helpful to Colorado in continuing the evaluation of the state's oral health problems and what we need to do about them. During my administration, we have made important progress in dental care for the state's children. But, we still have much to do and this grant will help us do that.

Jane E. Norton, the Department of Public Health and Environment's executive director, said the Colorado grant will be used to pay a portion of the salary of a new epidemiologist, who will be shared with another department program, and to hire a dental hygienist for the Oral Health Program.

Norton said, Colorado now will have the ability to monitor oral disease trends and evaluate program strategies to see what truly makes a difference in improving oral health. Oral health is an integral part of health and, without good oral health, overall health suffers. I anticipate that this funding will have significant impact on our mission to improve and protect the health and environment of the people of Colorado.

Diane Brunson, the Oral Health Program director, said, With the release of the Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health in May 2001, the nation is charged with developing strategies to improve the oral health of residents and to reduce disparities in accessing dental services. This grant will provide Colorado with the needed program staff to develop and implement a variety of approaches.

In 2000, the Governor created the Colorado Commission on Children's Dental Health, which studied and identified ways of improving the dental health of the state's children, particularly low-income children.

As a result of the commission's findings and the work of the Governor's Office, Owens announced last February that dental benefits would be made available to children covered by the Child Health Plan Plus.

The dental care now available to enrollees in CHP+, Colorado's insurance program for low-income children who do not qualify for Medicaid, includes regular checkups, cavity repairs, crowns, extractions and other services.

Other commission recommendations implemented by the Colorado Legislature and signed into law by the Governor include permitting dental hygienists to bill Medicaid for their services and permitting dentists and dental hygienists with outstanding educational loans to obtain state tax credits and loan repayments if they work in areas of the state where the availability of oral health care is limited.

Two years ago, the state, through the Department of Public Health and Environment, was one of eight states selected to participate in the National Governor's Association Policy Academy designed to help Governors formulate and implement policies and programs designed to address the oral health care of children. The creation of the commission provided the framework for the policy academy work in which Colorado participated.

Author Notes:

Elizabeth Jones contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.teeth-whitening-smiles.com.  Everything you need to know to get a whiter, brighter smile!