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OCTOBER 2006
(Vol. 1, Issue 4)
IMPORTANT DATES
October 14, 2006: WDHA House of
Delegates
Milwaukee, WI
October 16-19, 2006: ADA Annual Meeting
Las Vegas, NV
October 25, 2006: Seal-A-Smile RFP's due
November 4-8, 2006: APHA Annual Meeting and
Exposition
Boston, MA
December 10-14, 2006: National Primary Oral Health Care
Conference
Scottsdale, AZ - Camelback Inn
If you
have an event you would like added to this list please e-mail
Matt
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WOHC MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
The month's WOHC member spotlight
is on Brian Hodgson, DDS. Hodgson graduated from
Marquette University with a Bachelor of Science Degree and
also from the Marquette University School of
Dentistry. Hodgson served 3 years of active
duty in the US Navy and completed a Certificate in
Pediatric Dentistry at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin where
he currently serves as an instructor. In
addition Hodgson serves as assistant professor at
Marquette University in the Division of Pediatric
Dentistry. He also has his own pediatric specialty
private practice in Lake Geneva,
Wisconsin. Hodgson is a member of various
professional organizations including the ADA, WDA, GMDA, and
the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry among
others. Hodgson is also a member of the Children's
Health Alliance of Wisconsin Advisory Board.
Hodgson believes
that one of greatest oral health challenges in
Wisconsin is providing education to young
mothers. His goal is to see wide spread basic
messages presented to young mothers in pre-birth classes
and other venues. He does credit the
work Children's Health Education Center currently does in
this field. Hodgson would also like to see the expansion
of fluoride varnish programs to infants as well. As a
member of WOHC he would like to assist in the effort to help
keep kids lives pain-free. Hodgson mentions the ability
of a child to perform well in school can be greatly inhibited
by dental pain. Hodgson believes that school-based
dental hygiene services are a great idea and that "the
value of the services provided by dental hygienist's is
greatly underestimated. Placing dental hygienists in a
school setting to screen children and place sealants would
greatly improve the overall effectiveness of the current
dental delivery system." The Coalition applauds Brian
for his hard work and continued dedication towards the
improvement of oral health in Wisconsin.
This section of the
WOHC Oral Health eBytes will feature a dedicated
member/organization of the coalition. If you have any
recommendations, please contact Matt
Crespin
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WISCONSIN
NEWS
Seal-A-Smile Program to
Expand
The Wisconsin Department of
Health and Family Services (DHFS) has been awarded a Health
Resources and Services Administration Dental Workforce Grant
of $95,627 which will supplement the state Seal-A-Smile (SAS)
program. In 2002, the United States Senate passed the
Dental Health Improvement Act, which was authored by Senator
Russ Feingold and Senator Susan Collins from Maine.
Feingold and Collins worked to fund the Dental Health
Improvement Act at $2 million for the first time in fiscal
year 2006. This funding is for programs that can include
dental education, recruitment and retention, loan forgiveness,
and community prevention. Feingold said "I am extremely
pleased that Wisconsin will be receiving one of the Dental
Workforce Grants...which helps to expand much-needed dental
health programs like Seal-A-Smile."
Currently the state allocates $120,000 of general
purpose revenue (GPR) to the SAS program which funds 15
programs statewide. DHFS has partnered with
Children's Health Alliance of Wisconsin to manage these funds
as a suppliment to the SAS program for both current and
prospective sealant programs. If you would
like more information contact Matt
Crespin or click here to download the
RFP.
WOHC Fall Forum
Review
The Wisconsin Oral Health Coalition
held an oral health forum on September 28, 2006 in
Appleton, Wisconsin. Over 60 participants were on-hand
for this exciting day. Dr. Michael Helgeson presented a
keynote address entitled "Oral Health Care Solutions: Hope for
the Future." Helgeson is the CEO and co-founder of Apple
Tree Dental in Minnesota. Apple Tree has found
successful and innovative ways of treating patients with
special access needs as well as children. Various
programs and models of care were also discussed as
participants from Madre Angela Dental Clinic, Federally
Qualified Health Centers, the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, and
Green Bay's Howe Health Room.
The Coalition was also pleased to
have three state legislators participate in a legislative
awareness session. Representatives Dean Kaufert, Alvin
Ott, and Steve Wieckert were on-hand to share their
experiences with oral health care and the access problems that
Wisconsin residents face, as well as listen
to participants at the forum share possible
solutions. Dr. Steve Stoll from the Wisconsin Dental
Association presented the "2 cents for Tooth Sense"
proposal as they are hopeful this will address the
reimbursement rate for Medicaid procedures, thus increasing
the feasibility for dentists to accept more Medicaid
patients. This proposal would impose a two cent
user fee on soda which several other states have already
successfully implemented. Many excellent points
were made to the representatives, The coalition will
continue to work on the issues that were presented.
This just
in...
At
the recent WOHC Fall Oral Health Forum Dr. Warren LeMay
discussed problem with the fluoridation equipment at the
Linnwood water plant in Milwaukee. LeMay reports that
"in consultation with the manufacturer, it appears they
can continue to use the current bulk tank until the new bulk
tank arrives. So for now, there may not be in
interruption in fluoridation from this plant."
Medicaid
Certified Dental Hygienists
As you probably already know as of
September 1, 2006, dental hygienists who have at least two
years, or 3200 hours of clinical experience can become
certified Medicaid providers. This is an optional
certification as those dental hygienists that are working
under a dentist can continue to use that dentist's provider
number instead of obtaining their own. If you are
interested in applying for a Medicaid number please click here to go to the provider
section of the Medicaid Web site. You can also contact
Provider Services at (800) 947-9627 or send a request in
writing to Wisconsin Medicaid Provider Maintenance, 6406
Bridge Rd., Madison, WI 53784-0006. If you have
further questions regarding this please don't hesitate to
contact Matt Crespin.
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National
News
Action
Alert!!!
ACT
TODAY
For Better Oral Health
This is an action alert from the
American Association of Public Health Dentistry
- Dental Public Health Residency
Funding was Eliminated by the U.S.
House Appropriations
Committee, but $8 million was restored by the Senate
Labor-HHS-Ed Subcommittee
- This Budget Item will now need
to be resolved in Appropriations Conference Committee later
after the November elections!
Why you should care:
Oral
diseases are a silent epidemic!
Millions of Americans have
unnecessary pain, infection, and limited access to dental
care!
Public health prevention programs are cost-effective
in preventing pain and infection!
Public health dentists
are trained to prevent disease and improve access to
vulnerable groups!
There are only about 150 board certified
public health dentists in the U.S.
What you can Do:
Tell your U.S. Senator / Representative to support
the restoration of $8 million for the Public Health,
Preventive Medicine, and Dental Public Health cluster in the
fiscal year 2007 Budget, Title VII, H.R. 5647, (Department of
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act).
Contact your legislators
While At home during The congressional recess. Talk to them or
their staff directly giving them examples for why funding for
dental public health residencies is important.
Visit, Call or Write Your
Senator/ Representative TODAY!
An e-mail list can be found
at:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm)
For further information, contact the
AAPHD National Office at 217-391-0218. Attached is a sample
letter for you to adapt using local information. Click here to download this
letter. (This information will also be found on www.aaphd.org later this week.)
Please copy the AAPHD
National Office on all letters or e-mails or send a short
report on your conversation to: natoff@aaphd.org. Act today! Thank you.
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FYI
Fluoride Varnish Treatment for
Reducing Caries:
Click
here to read
this article that reviews literature to show overwhelming
evidence that fluoride varnish is effective in the prevention
of caries. (Contemporary Oral Hygiene, Kensell-Burger,
Sept. 2006)
Outsmarting perio: How technology
and ingenuity are redefining
care
Click here to read this article that discusses how
comprehensive care is redefining the role of the dental
hygienist. This article discusses the changes that are
taking place and how the role of a dental hygienist is
expanding.
(Modern Hygienist, McCann, Nov.
2005)
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you have any questions or comments about WOHC Oral Health
eBytes contact Matt Crespin
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