Trinity, a current program participant, chooses which toothbrush to take home with her.

Children’s Oral Healthcare Access Program

The Children’s Oral Healthcare Access Program is a new project spearheaded by the Solano Coalition for Better Health. The SBCOHS Project is a 4-year comprehensive dental treatment project whose target population is children aged 0 to 18 living in Vallejo, CA. The Coalition is partnering with the school-based health center (SBHC) at Elsa Widenmann Elementary School in the Vallejo City Unified School District, an evaluation team from Touro University of California, a registered dental hygienist (RDH) and private practice dentists whose offices are based in Vallejo, CA.

This oral health services project proposes to integrate oral health with primary care services at Widenmann Student Health Center by providing preventive and restorative dental care, community outreach, oral health education, and referrals to Vallejo children between 0 and 18 at the Widenmann Dental Clinic, which is located in the same facility.

The Coalition received an $800,000 grant distributed over 4 years from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) through the Maternal and Child Health Bureau in October 2011. The Widenmann Dental Clinic officially opened for service in early March 2012. As of April 2013, the clinic has served 416 children in Vallejo and continues to promote its free dental services to children in the community.

The primary goals of this oral health project are to:

• Establish, maintain, and continuously improve an integrated oral health program within the Widenmann Student Health Center that incorporates preventive and restorative services, community outreach, oral health education, and tracking and referral
• Provide dental treatments for 2,275 children by the end of the 4-year project
• Provide oral health educational services to 1,200 children and adults per year of the project
• Evaluate and disseminate the program’s outcomes for purpose of expanding model to similar venues

We aim to provide the following services at the Widenmann Dental Clinic:

• Screenings
• X-rays
• Fluoride varnish
• Sealants
• Cleanings (prophylaxis)
• Case management
• Prevention-based oral health education
• Referral to basic restorative services
• Free follow-up/recare appointments
• Referral for emergency dental services

Here are some of the the children that the clinic serves. These children are recognized for successfully completing their brushing and flossing chart. The Widenmann Dental Clinic staff is proud of their efforts to maintain their healthy smiles.

Recognition/Awards

Contact

To schedule an appointment, please contact the dental clinic staff at (707) 556-8740 ext 5. Please provide your name and a contact number so that we may get back to you as soon as possible.

If you’d like to speak with a representative from the Project Team in regards to donations, partnerships, and other opportunities, please email us at oralhealth@solanocoalition.org.

The Solano Coalition for Better Health Children’s Oral Healthcare Access Program is made possible by grant number H47MC23170 from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) (Title V, Social Security Act), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of MCHB, HRSA, or DHHS.