College of Dentistry to help improve dental care among children

COLUMBUS – The Ohio State University College of Dentistry has been awarded a $650,000 grant to provide dental treatment and oral hygiene education to children attending the Columbus Public Schools. The grant, awarded Wednesday (10/29) by the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation, will help provide onsite dental care at various elementary schools.

Canise Bean, assistant professor in the College of Dentistry and the director of the OHIO Project, a statewide oral health care outreach initiative, said that access to dental care remains the No. 1 unmet health care need in Ohio.

“The lack of oral health care among underserved Ohioans, particularly children, is reaching alarming levels,” Bean said. “The funding provided by the foundation will allow us to provide immediate care and the education that can improve the quality of life for children.”

Bean added that the need was identified through an existing collaboration with Children’s Hospital, the Columbus Health Department, Columbus Public Schools, KidsOhio.org and the Universal Health Care Action Network in Ohio.

“The Columbus Health Department has been providing free tooth sealants to elementary children in the Columbus school system since 1986,” she said. “In providing this service, the children are also diagnosed with cavities, oral pain and swelling that more times than not goes untreated.”

The grant will be used to purchase a specially designed, three-chair mobile dental van equipped to provide oral treatment and hygiene services. Advanced dental school students will help provide the onsite services as part of the college’s service-learning initiative.

Bean added that the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation has made access to oral health care a funding priority in central Ohio.

“Access is a critical component in resolving the challenges that so many in our communities face in obtaining treatment,” Bean said. “We are pleased to be the recipient of the foundation’s grant, which will help further our efforts to narrow the existing disparities.”