September 20, 2009: Dr Bienvenu recently gave a speech on oral health in Louisiana, in which he discussed the impact and scope of dental disease in children, current concepts of pathophysiology, mechanisms and strategies for intervention available to pediatricians, the AAP Oral Health Initiative, new recommendations for pediatricians, and the complexion and future of oral health in the state.
The Department of Pediatrics at the LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport received an AAP Preceptorship grant and plans to include various departments, community schools, nurses and nurse practitioners, and local and pediatric dentists. In addition, a Continuity Care Clinic team at LSUHSC-Shreveport's Children's Clinic has begun a quality improvement project that will enhance local dental visits/dental home opportunities by working with dentists to increase the availability of dental care for Medicaid recipients. Pediatric residents will visit dentists to discuss developing appointments for children who receive Medicaid and to learn about the regulations and application details for Medicaid patients, along with office management. It is hoped that methods of facilitating dentist participation will also be discovered and utilized.
Chapter Activities An initial meeting has been held with the Louisiana Dental Association leadership to take steps toward allowing pediatricians to provide oral screening and fluoride varnish applications for children 3 years and younger.
Future goals include the implementation of more oral health activities.
This section will feature Louisiana news related to oral health. If you would like to submit an oral health article to be posted on this Web page, please
e-mail the link and why you think the article should be included to oralhealthinfo@aap.org.
Please, no product endorsements, articles that promote individual dental practices, or information that relates to time-sensitive announcements, such as free screening fairs.
