A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report shows that dental sealants are an effective and inexpensive way to prevent cavities, especially among low-income children. Sealants prevent up to 80% of cavities in back teeth; yet, children in low-income families are 20% less likely to get sealants, compared to peers from higher-income groups. Untreated cavities cause pain, infection and problems with eating, and can inhibit social interaction and learning. The CDC's October 2016 Vital Signs fact sheet outlines ways state officials can enhance school-based sealant programs to help more children prevent cavities.

The Safety Net Medical Home Initiative which offers an Oral Health Deilvery Framework now includes a companion resource: Oral Health Integration Implementation Guide. The Guide is intended to provide advice and instructions for primary care teams as they integrate the Framework and engage in oral health; it reflects the experiences, challenges and successes of 19 field-testing sites who implemented the Framework and includes myriad resources, such as an implementation guide, field-testing results and case examples, an annotated oral health integration toolset, and more.

If you're interested in Virginia-specific oral health integration information, check out the Oral Health Integration Toolkit on the VaOHC website.