Massachusetts Coalition for Oral Health

The Massachusetts Coalition for Oral Health (MCOH) promotes effective community preventive measures to improve the oral health of all Massachusetts residents. Our site will be useful for consumers, students, health providers, school nurses, health advocates, policymakers, and educators working in a variety of settings.                                                           

This site provides materials, resources, and tools to help you:

• Learn more about oral health
• Communicate oral health messages effectively to your family, clients, patients, or student
• Design a school-based sealant program for your community
• Know about Massachusetts’ oral health policy

White Paper on School-Based Oral Health Programs

In April 2011 we published our first White Paper, Reaching New Heights in Health with School-Based Oral Health Programs. This resource was printed and distributed to Massachusetts school health providers by the MA Office of Oral Health, an MCOH member.  Coalition members are hopeful that this White Paper will be useful in providing school nurses, other school health providers, school educators, as  well as dental and non-dental health providers with the information needed to better understand effective strategies for preventing tooth decay, school-based oral health program models, and new regulations that govern dental professionals and dental programs providing oral health services in Massachusetts schools.

MCOH and the Office of Oral Health promote school-based prevention (dental sealant and fluoride) programs for students at high-risk for dental disease.   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that if 50 percent of children at high risk participated in school sealant programs, over half of their tooth decay would be prevented and money would be saved on their treatment costs. School-based sealant programs reduce oral health disparities in children.

For more information about school-based oral health programs or for additional copies of this resource, please contact the Office of Oral Health at Oral.Health@state.ma.us.

News

Pew Children’s Dental Campaign released a 50-state report on dental sealants — Falling Short: Most States Lag on Dental Sealants

The 2012 edition of the Massachusetts Health Council’s health status indicator report “Common Health for the Commonwealth: MA Data on the Preventable Determinants of Health” can be viewed here.