Ohio has launched the Children's Oral Health Action Team (COHAT), a team of nearly 30 organizations from education, healthcare, dental, and advocacy backgrounds who want to "advocate and educate to improve child oral health in Ohio," according to the organization's website.
The following are COHAT's primary goals:
- Increase the number of primary care providers who are actively involved in improving the oral health of their patients by 2014.
- Insert an oral health agenda as an ongoing learning support into Ohio Department of Education actions by state fiscal year (SFY) 2011.
- Advocate for the implementation of Medicaid plan changes designed to increase the capacity of the system to improve children's oral health by SFY 2013.
- Spearhead a targeted, public education campaign designed to change conventional wisdom regarding oral health commencing in SFY 2013.
Nearly 340,000 Ohio children have never visited a dentist, 28% of 3- to 5-year-olds in Head Start programs have untreated cavities, and only 31% of Ohio dentists will accept patients with Medicaid, according to COHAT.
As a result, COHAT supports Ohio's School-Based Sealant Program, which applies quality dental sealants to more than 20,000 Ohio schoolchildren at high risk of tooth decay, and will work with the state and Medicaid managed care plans to pursue administrative simplifications for oral healthcare providers and to maintain Ohio's current Medicaid eligibility and services, including adult dental benefits.
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