Your quarterly children’s oral health newsletter for Snohomish County, provided by the Access to Baby and Child Dentistry (ABCD) Program. Stay informed of program updates and learn about promoting children’s oral health with patients, clients, and families.

News Bite

Dental managed care update

The Washington State Legislature's biennial budget, ESHB1109, directs the Health Care Authority (HCA) to stop planned implementation of dental managed care. HCA is directed to continue to provide dental fee-for-service to Medicaid clients. For more information, visit the HCA website.

Health Message Bite

Water is best for teeth!

Offer water to your child first for thirst and throughout the day.
Juice, soda, and sports drinks cause cavities. Save them for special days.
Water may contain fluoride, a natural mineral that helps prevent cavities.

Healthy mouth challenge

Drink and serve my child more water during the day instead of juice, soda, and sports drinks.
Make drinking fun by giving my child a fun water bottle or straw.
Make water more interesting by adding slices of fresh lemon, cucumber, or strawberries.

Source: Cavity Free Kids

Resource Bite

For dental professionals

FREE 1 hour CE webinar: Washington Apple Health (Medicaid) Dental Coverage

Joel Berg, DDS, MS describes the state’s Apple Health (Medicaid) program from the dentist’s point of view.

WA Department of Health Opioid Rx Toolkit for Dentists

2019 Washington State opioid prescribing requirements for dentists in bite size pieces.

Oral Health Care During Pregnancy: A National Consensus Statement

Dental care is prenatal care! This consensus statement explains why dental care is essential to a healthy pregnancy and how providers can ensure pregnant women get the dental care they need.

Training Bite

Attention child care providers!

Starting this August, the new WACs for licensed child care providers will require daily tooth brushing activities (WAC 110-300-0185). Cavity Free Kids is the one-stop shop for education information and activities that support young, healthy mouths. Link in and check out the most recent guidelines and creative ideas for promoting oral health for children.

The Early Learning section includes strategies to teach about oral health during times of the day dedicated to other activities such as circle time, music, movement and science, and mealtimes. Handout and newsletter items are also readily available.

ABCD is partnering with the Child Care Health Outreach team at the Snohomish Health District to host a training on June 1. Register here.

Dental Access Coalition (DAC) Bite

Get Mouthy! Speak Up About Oral Cancer Prevention was a hit. Thirty-five dental professionals attended. Thank you to Snohomish Health District’s Vaccine Preventable Disease Program for presenting on Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) linked Oropharyngeal Cancers (OPCs) and how dental professionals can prevent them. A special thank you to MCNA dental for sponsoring the event, and the University of Washington’s Continuing Education Office for providing continuing education credit for dental professionals who participated in this training. This event was organized by the DAC of Snohomish County and hosted by Homage Senior Services in Lynnwood.

Want to suggest the next training topic for the DAC? Would you like to be added to the email distribution list? Send an email to Sarah de Jong at sdejong@snohd.org.

The ABCD Program participates in the DAC. Meetings are held quarterly on the 4^th Friday from 9 to 10:30 am at the Snohomish Health District in conference room 309 AB. The next meeting is on May 24.

Our Mission

Improve access to comprehensive, coordinated dental care.
Mobilize community resources, agencies and institutions to action
Advocate for prevention and early intervention.

Program Bite

ABCD trainings

Last training was held March 11, which included oral health for infants and toddlers and interim therapeutic restorations (phase 1 & 2) There were 11 dental professionals. Dr. Paul Kahlon, ABCD Champion, and co-owner of Stellar Kids Dentistry was the trainer for this session.

Do you see children under 6 on Apple Health/Medicaid in your practice? Would you like to become ABCD certified to earn enhanced Medicaid rates? Would you like to earn free UW CE credits? Are you an ABCD trained dental practice who needs to train new providers or staff? If this sounds like you, please contact the ABCD Coordinator to request a training: Felicia Cain, fcain@snohd.org, 425.339.8697

Low-Cost dental resource list

The ABCD Program updates this list quarterly. You can find the latest version here.
To be added or removed from the list, or to make edits to your listing, please complete this online form.

Need help finding a dentist for your clients?

Adult clients in Washington, whether on Medicaid, private insurance or no insurance, can contact Dentist Link. A referral specialist can find a dentist in the client’s area. A Spanish-speaking referral specialist is available at https://dentistlink.org/.

Need help finding a dentist for young children on Medicaid/Apple Health?

There’s extra help available through the ABCD program for children under 6 on Medicaid/Apple Health. Contact the ABCD Coordinator directly, Felicia Cain, fcain@snohd.org or 425.339.8697
Or complete this online form: https://dentistlink.org/abcd-referral/

Case management services available for your ABCD clients

Are you a private practice dental office who sees patients under 6 years old on Medicaid/Apple Health? Do they need extra help with transportation, language access, or other basic needs? If you answered yes to these questions, the ABCD Coordinator may be able to help. Contact her with your questions. Felicia Cain: 425.339.8697 or fcain@snohd.org

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share via Email