The University of Iowa's Infant Oral Health Program (IOHP) at the Johnson County Health Department was established in September of 1998. Objectives: The program's primary objectives are: 1) increase dental access and provide preventive dental care to low-income infants and toddlers; 2) prevent/intercept “early childhood caries” in a high-risk population; 3) provide an opportunity to senior dental students to gain "hands-on" experience examining young children; and 4) provide pediatric dentistry residents practical experience administering a dental public health program. Methods: The IOHP operates one day per week at the Johnson County Health Department. Services are provided at no charge to WIC-enrolled infants and children. Services include: exams, prevention, limited restorative treatment, parental education and referral. Information collected in the clinic is entered into a computer database and analyzed using SPSS. Results: During the first 3 years of the IOHP: 1) 436 children were seen; 2) an average of 12 children were seen per day; 3) the majority (66.2%) of patients were under the age of 3; 4) 47% were one year of age or younger; 5) 158 (36.2%) were classified as high risk for dental decay; 6) 38% were from minority backgrounds; 7) 65% had no dental insurance; 8) more than 260 fluoride varnish applications were performed. Conclusions: The IOHP has been successful in providing dental care to high-risk children in a public health setting, and in providing a learning/research opportunity for dental students. Future plans include: expansion of the dental services provided and further evaluation of data collected.

Back to the Behavioral Sciences Program
Back to the IADR/AADR/CADR 80th General Session (March 6-9, 2002)

Top Level Search