CDC Program Manager Maryland Department of Health, Office of Oral Health
Participants should be aware of the following financial/non-financial relationships: . Giselle Gonzalez, MPH, CHEP: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Obesity and dental caries are countrywide health problems. Poor oral health is linked to, and shares risk factors with many chronic health conditions. Dental providers can play a key role in providing care that extends beyond traditional boundaries and helps to addresses today’s chronic disease epidemic.
The Maryland Department of Health, Office of Oral Health (OOH), with funding from HRSA, developed an Oral Healthcare Based Childhood Obesity Screening and Prevention Program pilot that focuses on BMI screening of pediatric dental patients. It identifies children who are above a healthy weight and works to improve outcomes through health education and by referral to healthcare providers including physicians and nutritionists.
To create this project, OOH partnered with four local health departments and one federally qualified health center in five Maryland counties. With guidance from an interdisciplinary advisory panel, OOH created a project model, provider tools, and materials to address obesity, dental caries, and common risk factors of both. Training and technical assistance was provided to partners, and data collections tools to evaluate outcomes and performance were established. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, early implementation consisted mostly of health education activities via teledentistry. As dental clinics reopened, screenings, education, referrals, follow up, and data collection were fully implemented. Data from the pilot is constantly evaluated to incorporate improvement measures as needed. An expansion of this project will include adults and is planned for the near future. Funding sources and additional partnerships are currently being evaluated.
