Next week, UNMC College of Dentistry students, faculty and staff are traveling to Butte, Neb., to provide free dental care to elementary school children from Butte and nearby Spencer.
The College of Dentistry is partnering with the North Central District Health Department to provide a school-based dental sealant program in Boyd County on March 12 and 13.
“This is an important preventive effort, and we are proud of our students, faculty and staff for making this project possible,” said Kim McFarland, D.D.S., faculty lead and principal investigator of the college’s federally grant-supported sealant programs. (The college also has another sealant program supported by local and state grants.)
With the help of the North Central District Health Department, local schools and community leaders, the event will be the first school-based dental sealant program implemented in the district.
The sealant program will be held at the West Boyd Elementary School in Butte. Four portable dental units will be assembled in the school gymnasium, and the gymnasium will serve as a temporary dental clinic.
For the school children who return their permission slips, dental hygienists and dental students will provide dental sealants, fluoride treatments and oral health education. Dental sealants are white plastic coatings that are placed over the chewing surfaces of back teeth to prevent cavities. The children also will receive free toothbrushes and toothpaste.
“The goal of school-based dental sealant programs is to prevent dental disease before it begins and to increase access to needed dental care, especially in rural and underserved areas,” Dr. McFarland said.
The program also teaches local health departments how to plan, organize and conduct their own sealant program, helping them develop business plans to demonstrate the financial feasibility of such programs.
“We can’t go to all communities to provide sealants, but we can show the communities how to successfully conduct their own sealant program,” Dr. McFarland said.
In Nebraska, approximately 45 percent of school-age children have sealants. For national figures, click here.