Oral Health
About Our Oral Health Initiative
Oral health is an integral part of overall health and it’s key to children’s growth and development. Yet, one in three Wisconsin children are living with untreated dental decay, the most preventable chronic disease in the United States. Children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) are twice as likely to have unmet dental needs, and there are disproportionate levels of access to oral health care in minority and low-income populations.
Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin has been a leader in the Wisconsin oral health access movement for more than 20 years. Our first program was Healthy Smiles for Wisconsin, founded in 1998, which focused on providing school-based sealants. This program evolved into Wisconsin Seal-A-Smile. Since then, the Alliance has led numerous oral health programs, impacted the development of public policy and recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Wisconsin Oral Health Coalition.
More than half of Wisconsin children experience dental disease by age 9.
Each year, nearly 100,000 Wisconsin Medicaid children under age 5 visit a physician but not a dentist.
School-age children without dental sealants have almost 3x more cavities than children with sealants.
What We Do
We facilitate the ongoing efforts of coalition building, program delivery and policy development to increase access and improve the oral health of children and families in Wisconsin. Our Wisconsin Seal-A-Smile Program collaborates to provide school-based oral health prevention services in schools statewide. Healthy Smiles for Mom and Baby is working to improve the oral health of underserved pregnant women and infants. The Wisconsin Oral Health Coalition focuses on oral health policy and its impact on access to care.
Wisconsin Oral Health Coalition
The Wisconsin Oral Health Coalition is a dedicated group of more than 200 individuals, organizations and agencies working to improve oral health and access to dental care through diverse public and private partnerships.
Healthy Smiles for Mom and Baby
Healthy Smiles for Mom and Baby is an oral health integration and quality improvement program that works with partners from the medical and dental communities. The goal of Healthy Smiles for Mom and Baby is to reduce the prevalence of oral health disease in both underserved pregnant women and infants by integrating quality oral health care into the health care delivery system statewide.
Wisconsin Seal-A-Smile
Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin administers the Wisconsin Seal-A-Smile program in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and Delta Dental of Wisconsin. Wisconsin Seal-A-Smile provides children with preventive dental services at no cost to children and their families. Research shows 75 percent of teeth that are sealed remain cavity-free, compared to less than 25 percent of teeth without dental sealants.
Wisconsin Medical Dental Integration Project
This new project will focus on using quality improvement methods to integrate dental hygienists into primary care medical teams.
Contact Staff
Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH
Associate Director
(414) 337-4562
mcrespin@chw.org
Dana Fischer, CHES
Project Manager
Healthy Smiles for Mom and Baby
(414) 337-4563
dfischer@chw.org
Rachael Henken, JD
Project Manager
Wisconsin Oral Health Coalition
(414) 337-4576
rhenken@chw.org
Rosie McGovern
Project Coordinator
Wisconsin Oral Health Coalition
(414) 337-4575
amcgovern@chw.org
Oral Health News
Wisconsin Oral Health Coalition supports dental therapy legislation
Representative Mary Felzkowski and Senator David Craig are circulating LRB 1947/1 for co-sponsorship. This legislation would create a pathway for licensing dental therapists in Wisconsin. Dental therapists must graduate from a training program accredited [...]
Governor Evers releases plan to address oral health access issues in Wisconsin
Governor Tony Evers included a multi-pronged oral health package in the 2019-21 biennial budget, including a $43.4 million investment addressing the following areas: Increased dental Medicaid reimbursement rates for non-profit providers by 50 percent if at least [...]
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