CHILDREN–Grant Funds Oral Health Project at San Ysidro Center

Program to Target Low-Income, Minority Children

The state’s largest health foundation awarded a three-year grant to the San Ysidro Health Center’s early childhood oral health project earlier this year.

The Infant Oral Health Project will use about $390,000 from provided by The California Endowment, a private foundation. The oral health project aims to prevent and provide early treatment to children with the highest risk of tooth decay.

The program will target low-income, minority children under 5 years old who live in the South Bay communities of Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, National City and San Ysidro.

These funds will allow the center to provide dental services to underserved children, according to Ed Martinez, chief executive officer of the health center.

Currently the center is assessing the community’s knowledge about such services, developing a curriculum and hiring staff. The project will be launched in full at the end of the year, according to Terry Whitaker, director of oral health services at the center.

- Oral Health Program

Developed As A Model

The program, which will promote oral health and disease prevention, is also being developed as a model that can be replicated in other communities, he said.

Whitaker called the program innovative, since part of the program will research oral health beliefs and attitudes of the community.

Some people believe primary teeth are expendable since they are not permanent, he said. By knowing and understanding the cultural aspects of the community, parent education can be more focused.

The center will also enlist the help of promotoras, or volunteers who are influential in the community, he said. These volunteers will be used to let people know about the program and will help educate the community.

This outreach effort is one of the reasons that the San Ysidro center received the grant, according to Erika Montelongo, external communications associate with The California Endowment.

- Dental Health Education

For Expecting Parents

Another unique aspect of the program is the prenatal dental care, she said, adding that the center will teach expecting parents about children’s dental health before the baby is born.

While these are only a couple of reasons, Montelongo said that the Endowment seeks to reduce the disparities of health care.

Since the San Ysidro center is located in a high-need area, the center was a prime candidate for the grant, she said.

Of the more than 350 children seen at the center each month, 10 percent or less have received dental sealants, which is a preventive treatment recommended for young children, Martinez said.

Most children are from families who do not have health insurance, are underinsured, or who come to the dental clinic for urgent care, Martinez added.

The San Ysidro Health Center provides access to low-cost health care services to the area’s medically underserved residents. The facility handles about 120,000 visits per year for 38,000 predominantly Hispanic people, most of whom are underinsured or have no insurance at all.

- Health Center

Forms Partnerships

In addition to the grant, the health center is also forming partnerships with other community health and social service organizations, preschool and child care programs, and local school districts, Martinez said.

While the partnerships are still in development, Whitaker said that center is working with day-care providers, Head Start programs, and other organizations where at-risk children would be.

The center expects to see about 2,000 children during the three-year program, he said.

The center will possibly seek funding from other sources if needed, Whitaker said.