 The REACH Healthcare Foundation and the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City (HCF) are partners on Project Ready Smile LLC, an initiative to improve the oral health of children ages birth to six that aims to help children arrive for kindergarten with healthy teeth and mouths. Project Ready Smile LLC is a subsidiary of the REACH Foundation that is funded jointly by REACH and HCF. The two Foundations have made a three-year commitment to the project.
Project Ready Smile dental hygienists work with early childhood and Head Start programs that serve low-income and medically underserved children to screen for oral health problems, apply fluoride varnish on teeth and connect children who need dental care with free treatment and care. The project is working with early childhood programs in the Foundations’ shared service area, which encompasses Cass, Jackson and Lafayette counties in Missouri, and Allen, Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas.
Along with improving the oral health of young children, the project seeks to:
- Increase the number of dentists willing to treat low-income children.
- Encourage families to establish a “dental home” for routine checkups and care.
- Educate children, families and early childhood caregivers about oral health habits that should begin early in a child’s life.
Dental hygienists began conducting oral screenings and fluoride varnish applications in March 2008. Data collected on the project show 1,273 children participated in the first year of implementation; 224 were referred for dental care because of tooth decay or other oral problems. The project is expected to reach 2,000 children by December 2009.
Project Ready Smile continues to recruit for its network of dentists willing to provide dental services to low-income children. Dentists who participate will be reimbursed for services or can choose to provide charity care. Dentists interested in participating in the program are encouraged to review the information for dental professionals (see below), and complete a dental agreement form (click here).
For more information on the initiative, read the Project Ready Smile fact sheet or contact Project Director Dawn Downes, (913) 432-4196, email dawn@reachhealth.org.
To see the Project Ready Smile First-Year Report, (click here)
Information for dental professionals (click here).
Information for early childhood programs (click here).
List of participating early childhood programs (click here).
List of participating Dental Professionals (click here).
Project Ready Smile dental hygienists (click here).
Project Ready Smile Steering Committee (click here).
View a video story on the Project (click here). |
