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Oral Health Equity Project

An Effective Practice

Description

The Oral Health Equity Project (OHEP) provides free oral health screening for low income Boston elders. The project also offers low-cost follow-up appointments and treatment, and raises awareness about oral cancer prevention, denture care, smoking, nutrition, and overall oral hygiene. Local dental schools have shown a commitment to the program by making additional staff, fourth year dental students, and first year students available for the oral health screenings. The program is mutually beneficial, as students gain practical experience in community based settings and low-income elders get improved dental care.

Goal / Mission

The mission of the Oral Health Equity Project (OHEP) is to increase access to preventative services and dental care for economically disadvantaged elders living in Boston's public housing. The specific goal of the three-year project is to provide oral health screening to 1000 low-income elders.

Results / Accomplishments

In the first sixteen months of the project, 675 individual screenings were conducted in 42 housing developments, reaching a total of 514 60+ elders and 161 individuals under 60 years of age. Among all individuals screened, OHEP identified 34 cases needing urgent care, 62 cases needing denture repair/reline, and 179 cases needing new dentures. An OHEP canvas bag containing a set of the educational materials (available in seven languages), a toothbrush and toothpaste, and a denture kit was given to each elder.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Boston Public Health Commission
Primary Contact
Meghan Turnier, Program Manager
1010 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02118
(617) 534-5683
MTurnier@bphc.org
http://www.bphc.org/
Topics
Health / Oral Health
Health / Older Adults
Organization(s)
Boston Public Health Commission
Source
National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)
Date of publication
2005
Date of implementation
2003
Location
Boston, MA
For more details
https://eweb.naccho.org/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?site...
Target Audience
Older Adults
Additional Audience
Low-Income

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Related Content for: Oral Health Equity Project

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success and/or promise in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures of improvement in outcome of interest (i.e. increase in voter registration, not just delivery of voter registration drive) and/ or the outcome measure is increased or improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant.
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