After a mandated shutdown imposed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York will reopen state-run programs that provide dental healthcare to children in underserved communities.
Critical dental care, sealants, and screenings will once again be administered to children in grades pre-K through 12 who rely on these services and who have otherwise gone untreated or unscreened since March 2020, according to the New York State Dental Association and the New York School Based Health Alliance and Community Healthcare Association. The two organizations lobbied for the move to open dental health services for these children.
Students with access to school-based health centers are significantly less likely to be sent home during the school day than those without access to such centers, according to a study published in the Journal of School Health of two urban high schools in western New York. The study concluded that school-based health centers are able to increase student learning.
