School-Based Oral Health
Students should have equitable access to healthcare. School-based oral health programs (SBOHPs) help reduce barriers to receiving care and facilitate direct connections between school nurses and safety net clinic staff, ensuring a more fair, patient-centered, and value-based oral health care system.
Did you know that dental caries, or cavities,
are the most common chronic disease of childhood in the US?
Untreated cavities can cause pain, infection, missed school time, and difficulty eating, talking, or socializing. Schools can address the health needs of Virginia students by providing dental care on-site. This ensures that children receive necessary oral health care and education while removing access barriers such as:
50%
of children who received care at a school-based program in 2018 had not seen a dentist in the prior year.
Transportation
children can stay at school for care, meeting patients where they are
Caregiver Time
caregivers do not have to be present or take time off work to get their children to a dental clinic
Since 2021, over 14,000 Virginia students have access to oral health services at school