The North Dakota Department of Health will receive year-two funding from the DentaQuest Foundation to support its proposed action plan to address issues related to oral/dental health services to the underserved in North Dakota.
The plan is aimed at increasing people's access to oral care by helping to increase access to basic oral health prevention services, awareness, and education through medical and dental collaboration, according to Bobbie Will, DentaQuest grant manager with the North Dakota Department of Health.
During phase one of the project, the North Dakota Department of Health worked to develop multidimensional community partnerships and engaged them in the development of an oral health action plan to address increased delivery of oral healthcare to populations that have difficulty finding access to care, either due to financial limitations or geographical limitations.
In the second phase of this multiyear initiative, North Dakota Oral Health stakeholders will introduce Smiles for Life, an online oral health curriculum to increase basic knowledge of oral health prevention, screening, and application of fluoride varnish in medical/nursing schools, to healthcare professionals, and to staff at long-term care facilities in North Dakota. The project will also launch a long-term care outreach pilot program to increase access for the state's aging and disabled population.
North Dakota is one of 18 state nonprofit partners who are part of the Oral Health 2014 Initiative.
