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Information for the Dental Professionals
Who we are...
The Dental Resource Center is an innovative health project of the Dental Center of NW Ohio which utilizes a new paradigm to increase access to dental care. The project was originally funded by Toledo Community Foundation, Ronald McDonald House Charities, and the Dental Center of NW Ohio. Current funding is provided by the United Way and Miles for Smiles (www.milesforsmilestoledo.org)
The Dental Resource Center focuses on removing or reducing the barriers to dental care for Lucas, Ottawa, and Wood County families with young children, birth to age 5, with limited financial resources. The program is based on the recommendation of the American Dental Association, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and the American Academy of Pediatrics for a child’s first dental visit to occur by the first birthday.
Our work is important in the community.
Parents are ultimately responsible for the dental health of their children. However, many parents are not financially able to obtain dental care for themselves and are, therefore, not in the position to receive up-to-date information relating to the prevention and treatment of oral health diseases. In order to reach parents of infants, toddlers and preschoolers, the Dental Resource Center partners with many local agencies who already work with families with small children, such as Help Me Grow, Head Start, Perinatal Outreach Program, Toledo Public Schools Early Childhood Center, just to name a few.
The DRC educates parents on the important role of the primary dentition, the necessity of a dental exam by the first birthday, how to brush their child’s teeth, why and how to keep dental appointments, and the importance of completing the dental treatment plan. With this knowledge, the parents become better dental consumers and role models for their children.
The DRC also educates the partner agency staffs, who evaluate and guide the growth and development of children, in the fundamentals of oral health. Agencies perform an Oral Health Risk Assessment and make referrals for dental care based on the findings. The DRC connects the clients with a dental home and provides case management services to ensure a successful appointment for both the clients and the dental office.
Dental offices can help!
Your dental office can help us reach our goals by implementing any or all of the following strategies:
- Educate patients and callers on the importance of the primary dentition and early dental care. Share with them the ADA’s “first birthday” guideline.
- Refer children to the DRC who are excluded from your practice. Those might include new patients, infants, toddlers, preschoolers, Medicaid or state HMO recipients.
- Expand your scope of practice to include all children, especially birth to age 5.
You can learn more about the Dental Resource Center’s goals, objectives, strategies or outcomes, by calling the DRC's Project Director at (419) 725-2519.
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