informed and educated about oral health care, the hope is that regular well-baby visits will include regular dental visits as soon as the first tooth erupts.
organization that allocates state tobacco tax revenues to fund health care, education and child development programs for children up to age 5. Other dental schools in the County were also recipients of First 5 LA grants, with USC having the most ambitious goal: to care for the dental health needs of over 45,000 children in the East LA, Central LA, South LA and South Bay regions over the next five years. CHAMP is now in its second year of operation. The USC CHAMP team is composed of a diverse group of USC faculty, staff, and students including dental and health care professionals, “promotoras” (primarily Latino health educators), and social workers (unique to the USC CHAMP model). These teams visit Women, Infants and Children (WIC) centers, Head Start centers, day cares, and other community facilities throughout LA County to provide dental screenings, oral health education, and other community resources to families of children 0 to 5 years of age. In addition, teams assess dental treatment needs, assist families enrolling in insurance programs and finding dental homes, cooperate with community dental centers in order to provide dental care under sedation, and train dentists and other healthcare professionals in providing preventive services and dental care to very young children. Although CHAMP currently stands as a 5-year service project and research model, CHAMP administration is looking forward toward the project’s sustainability. USC is working on a model of billing DentiCal for preventive dental services in the field in order to keep the CHAMP project sustainable after the grant terminates in February 2018.
The heart of CHAMP is raising awareness through dental care outreach and education. Ms. Aguilar reports that CHAMP has already developed community relationships and partnered with 9 federally qualified community centers in order to provide medical and dental services for CHAMP participants. USC CHAMP is also expanding to provide direct restorative services every year to approximately 800 children in foster care who receive medical care through the Violence Intervention Program (VIP) at LAC+USC Medical Center. Furthermore, USC has added two additional spots in its postdoctoral pediatric dentistry residency program with the goal of inspiring more students to enter the specialty and to improve care the underserved community of LA County. Dr. Mulligan emphasized the importance of using this multidimensional approach in order “to promote oral health and reduce the individual and societal burden of dental caries in LA county.” To learn more about USC CHAMP, visit www.champ-usc. net.
One of the main reasons for the high prevalence of poor oral health in underserved children is lack of dental knowledge and awareness. “We want families to change their behavior and know that going to the dentist on a regular basis is good for prevention of disease, instead of going only when it hurts,” states USC CHAMP Program Administrator Eleanor Aguilar. Many parents are unaware that establishing good oral habits even for primary teeth is critical for the developing dentition and for overall health. Once parents are USC Student Research Group (SRG)
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