O R A L
H E A LT H
P R O M O T I O N
P R O G R A M
-
M I N N E S O TA
D E PA R T M E N T
Optimal Oral Health for all Minnesotans!
Volume 1, Issue 1,
W
elcome to the premier issue
of the Minnesota Department of
Health Oral Health Promotion
Program newsletter!
We hope you find the content timely, useful and
interesting.
We will be providing regular updates about our
program’s progress toward our mission and
will strive to keep you updated on current work
and how we are creating change.
We are so excited to share our program with
you. Read more about our commitment to the
oral health of Minnesotans in the following
pages to see how we have grown.
O F
H E A LT H
December 2010
Minnesota StateOral Health Plan
Next
Steps
Oral disease affects children and
adults across Minnesota everyday.
The Center for Health Promotion at the Minne-
Thanks,
Merry Jo Thoele
MPH, RDH, Director, Oral Disease Prevention Unit
Minnesota Department of Health
85 E. Seventh Place
P.O. Box 64882
St. Paul, MN 55164-0882
Visit our website!
http://www.health.state.mn.us/oralhealth/
sota Department of Health has entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Through this Cooperative
Agreement, the CDC provides funding and technical assistance to help Minnesota develop and operate a public health program to improve oral health.
Continued on next page...
Announcing:
The 2011
Oral Health
Summit!
what’s inside...
February 11
Snelling Office Park
Please visit our website for more details!
www.health.state.
mn.us/oralhealth/
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Sealant
Collaborative
Group
Page 2
Water
Fluoridation
Awards
Page 2
An Oral Health
Success Story
Page 3
Next Steps continued from front page
The Minnesota Oral Health
Promotion Program along with
stakeholders across the state of
Minnesota is developing the first
of its kind oral health plan for
the state of Minnesota. This plan
will serve as an outline for successfully accomplishing the goals
and objectives that have been developed by the state Oral Health
Promotion Program in collaboration with partners and stakeholders. The Minnesota Oral Health
Plan is intended to be a public
health strategic plan that establishes a vision for improving the
oral health and well-being of the
people of Minnesota and its local
communities. The vision for oral
health, as outlined in the oral
health plan, will guide policy development and targeted actions.
The goals will be broad based and
meant to form a framework to ensure a comprehensive, integrated
approach to meet the oral health
needs of our state’s population.
On August 6, 2010, stakeholders and work group chairs met to
review, make necessary revisions
and prepare the Minnesota Oral
Health Plan for wider review.
Barbara Deming facilitated the
meeting keeping the discussion
focused on the overall criteria of
improving the goals and objectives. Criteria were developed
throughout the discussion on
what the plan needs to become a
powerful document.
The next steps in the planning
process are underway. Following
the meeting, we will incorporate
discussion comments, change the
language, and reword the goals.
Upon completion, the Minnesota
Oral Health Plan will serve as a
call to action for individuals, communities, and organizations to
collaborate and implement strategies that will improve the oral
health of Minnesotans.
To view the draft plan and
provide feedback go to http://
www.health.state.mn.us/divs/
hpcd/chp/oralhealth/oralhealthplan.html
Sealant Advisory Group
The Oral Health Promotion Program and Drinking Water Protection
Section are pleased to
present the Association
of State and Territorial Dental Directors
(ASTDD) 2008/2009
Water Fluoridation
Appreciation Award
to 15 Minnesota communities. This award
recognizes those water
The Oral Health Promotion Program is seeking the input and advice
of individuals and organizations on ways to provide a coordinated,
comprehensive approach to improve oral health and reduce the
burden of oral disease in Minnesota. The focus of the work will be to
assist in the development of a comprehensive state-wide School-based
Dental Sealant Program.* The next meeting will be March 9, 2011,
10:00-12:00, Snelling Office Park.
systems that adjust the
For anyone interested in participating in the group,
please contact: Patti Ulrich, Prevention Coordinator at
651-201-4230, [email protected].
cedures for 50 years or
*Funding for this program is through the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the
Health Resources and Services Administration.
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fluoride concentration
in drinking water and
continue to optimize
their fluoridation promore. Framed certificates were presented
Continued on next page...
Continued from Page 2
Success
Story:
at the Sept 22, 2010
Minnesota American
Water Works Association Conference in
Duluth.
The Centers for Disease
The University
of Minnesota
School of
Dentistry
Rural
Dentistry
Track
Early
Decision
Program
Issue statement
There are severe shortages of dentists in parts of rural Minnesota.
Some counties are facing shortages such that patients have to
travel 50 miles or more to be seen
by a dentist. Many of the dentists
who presently practice in the rural areas are near retirement and
will be needing replacements.
Intervention
As part of its recruitment and retention efforts in Minnesota, the
School of Dentistry is introducing
Page 3
Control and Prevention
(CDC) 2009 Water Fluoridation Quality Award
was presented to over
the Rural Dentistry Track Early
Decision Program for students
who are thinking of a career in
dentistry and dental practice in
a rural area. This program will
allow students the opportunity
to build the dental workforce in
the rural areas of Minnesota. The
program will be a partnership
between the University Of Minnesota School Of Dentistry, community organizations who will be
the primary stakeholders in this
endeavor, and the Area Health
Education Centers (AHEC) that
is part of the University Academic Health Centers. Dr. Naty Lopez, Assistant Dean, has worked
with two individuals who will
represent the program, Trevor
Andrews and Becky Eckman. Dr.
Lopez has been able to connect
them to rural areas most in need.
The School of Dentistry will work
with community organizations already involved with Area Health
Education Center (AHEC) in an
effort to strengthen community
ownership of the program and
student accountability to their
Continued on next page...
100 communities. This
award recognizes
those water systems
that adjust the fluoride
concentration in drinking water and achieve a
monthly average fluoride level that is in the
optimal range for 12
months of a calendar
year, as documented
in the Water Fluoridation Reporting System
(WFRS).
Continued from Page 3
communities. Rural communities will be responsible for nominating students from their own
area during their first years of
college and are expected to support their students with matching grants.
Impact
The Early Decision Program for
Rural Dentistry Track provides
students with the opportunity
to work with dental hygienists
and dental assistants in community based prevention activities
such as dental sealant programs,
health promotion in elementary
schools, and conduct health careers exploration in high schools.
During the course of their dental
education, students in the Rural
Dentistry Track will continue to
undertake their community outreach activities in rural areas.
“The summer internships broadened my horizons. The experiences were eye opening and
there are a lot of people in need of oral health
care who are not receiving it. These experiences
have led me to realize that this is why I am in
the program- to make a difference.”
-Trevor Andrews
The Rural Dentistry Track program will allow students to complete the mandatory 30 hours
of shadowing in a rural practice
through summer internships. In
collaboration with rural dentists
and dental hygienists in the area,
students will complete a community service project at the conclusion of their summer internship.
“I learned through my summer experience
that children have the biggest impact on
adults. For example, when I was teaching
children on how to brush their teeth properly,
they would go home and show their parents
what they learned and teach their parents the
correct way of brushing their teeth. It’s the
word of mouth that really gets the message
across.”
-Becky Eckman
fun fact!
Trevor Andrews, Early Track student from Bemidji, MN, stated
“the opportunities I am being provided with are eye opening.”
Becky Eckman, Early Track student from Walker, MN, recognizes
that there is a need for oral health
professionals in the area. “A lot of
people who live in rural areas may
have health insurance but very
few of them have dental insurance. It’s just one of those things
where dental health is not seen
as important as medical health.
Essentially, people need to understand that dental health is just as
important as medical health. If
an individual has bad teeth, it has
a big impact on them. A smile is
a big deal and many individuals
are not able to have the smile they
want due to bad teeth.”
Did you know, that Americans cite bad breath as the
least attractive trait a co-worker can have?
Be more popular around the water cooler, brush after lunch.
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