Chapter Successfully Launches Early Oral Health Assessment Initiative - Alabama Medicaid Approves Payment to Primary Care Providers for Dental Codes
After a year of collaboration and planning, the Chapter, together with the Alabama Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, has successfully worked with the Alabama Medicaid Agency to add coverage of oral health risk assessment and fluoride varnishing in the pediatric medical home for children from 6 months to 3 years of age.

Effective January 2009, Medicaid began reimbursing primary care providers who have been trained in oral health risk assessment for dental codes D0145 (oral exam less than 3 years old, counseling) and D1206 (topical fluoride application) under certain limitations.

Working in tandem with Medicaid’s Oral Health Coalition, the goals of this program, called “1st Look,� are to improve awareness of early childhood caries; increase early prevention education, enlarge the dental referral provider base; and reduce the incidence of dental caries. The launch of this project makes Alabama the 23rd state to have such a program, according to the AAP Oral Health Initiative.

Pediatric providers, along with any clinical staff in their offices who will be applying the varnishes and performing risk assessments, must complete the AAP Oral Health Risk Assessment Training Program for Pediatricians and Other Child Health Professionals and pass the post-test. The training includes oral health risk assessment, education on performing anticipatory guidance/counseling, demonstration of fluoride varnish application, and information on recommendations for a dental home.

Additional Activities
The Chapter is working with the AAPD to provide training opportunities, both at state Chapter meetings and at the local level. More than 30 dentists have been trained at “train-the-trainer sessions, and more than 75 pediatricians have been trained.

Chapter Oral Health Advocate Grant Allen, MD, FAAP, is working in concert with Chapter Oral Health Liaison to the AAPD to continue promotion of this project. For more information, contact the Chapter office at lchampionaap@knology.net.

The Chapter also continues to serve as an active member of the Alabama Medicaid Agency’s Oral Health Coalition.