Oral health is the silent epidemic. Despite being one of the most prevalent diseases in the United States, dental disease often does not receive the needed attention from policymakers and from the public. Public Health Dental Director Dr. Bob Russell details this problem in his report and notes how untreated dental disease has resulted increased visits to hospital emergency rooms.

The Iowa Department of Public Health coordinated an open-mouth survey of children enrolled in the state WIC program (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) during the spring and summer of 2010. This report describes the process of conducting the oral health survey and the results.

A fact sheet was developed to highlight the increase in access to preventive dental care for Iowa Medicaid recipients during pregnancy. The Iowa Department of Public Health collaborated with the Iowa Department of Human Services/Iowa Medicaid Enterprise, the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Public Health Promotion, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on this fact sheet.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) coordinated an open-mouth survey of children enrolled in the state Head Start program during the spring of 2009. This report describes the process for conducting the oral health survey and the results.

The EPSDT (Early & Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment) program assures comprehensive health services for children enrolled in Medicaid. The EPSDT Dental Services Reports provide annual county data for dental services provided to Medicaid-enrolled children in Iowa. All information is based on services provided within a federal fiscal year (October 1 - September 30).

Reports from 1999 through 2009 provide information on the number of Medicaid-enrolled children receiving:

• Any dental services by dentists and Title V agency staff (dental hygienists, nurses)
• Preventive services (cleanings, fluoride treatments, sealants) by dentists and Title V agency staff
• Restorative services (fillings, crowns, extractions, root canals) by dentists.

Beginning in 2010, the report provides information on the number of Medicaid-enrolled children receiving:

• Any dental services by dentists/dental clinics, Title V agency staff, and physicians
• Any dental services by Title V agency staff and physicians
• Any dental services by dentists/dental clinics

EPSDT Dental Services Reports

The following reports describe the background, methodology, and results from open-mouth surveys conducted in selected Iowa schools. In 1999, students in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades were included in the study. All subsequent years only include 3rd graders.

In the spring of 1999, the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) implemented a plan to conduct surveys designed to determine the prevalence of dental sealants in third grade children in Iowa.

In the spring of 1999, the Iowa Department of Public Health implemented a plan to conduct surveys designed to determine the prevalence of dental sealants in third grade children in Iowa.

In 2003, the Iowa Board of Dental Examiners approved a rule change allowing public health supervision of dental hygienists. Under this rule, a dental hygienist can enter into a collaborative agreement with a dentist, allowing the hygienist to provide services to patients prior to those patients being seen by a dentist. The Oral Health Center is responsible for collecting the annual reports of services provided by dental hygienists working under public health supervision.

Since the implementation of the school dental screening requirement, a comprehensive audit report of the year's screening data is compiled.