The below list identifies programs for populations that have difficulties accessing oral health services. These community-based programs use a variety of educational tools and methods.

Statewide

SEAL! Michigan School-based Sealant Program
SEAL! Michigan is a school-based sealant program targeting second and sixth grade children. All services are provided within qualifying schools using portable dental equipment. This prevention focused program offers: screenings by a dentist or dental hygienist who will determine if the student has teeth that require dental sealants; sealant placement; classroom oral hygiene education; follow-up checks to determine the retention of dental sealants; and referrals for students that require further dental services. A dental sealant is a white liquid that is painted on the grooves of the back teeth (molars) and hardens to prevent or seal out decay. Sealants have been proven to reduce tooth decay by more than 70 percent, resulting in lower dental treatment costs and healthier children. Read more.

VARNISH! Michigan Program
Tooth decay is the most common (five times more prevalent than asthma) and preventable chronic disease of childhood. Children as young as 12-18 months can experience early childhood caries (tooth decay). The Fluoride Varnish Program services Early Head Start and Head Start children, ages 0-4 and provides dental screenings and fluoride varnish to these children.
The collection of dental health information through the dental screenings is used to determine the decay prevalence of Early Head Start and Head Start children and assist the Michigan Department of Community Health to promote future dental health programs. The program also includes: Caries-risk assessment; oral health education for staff, parents and children; and identification of a dental home. Read more.

School Fluoride Mouthrinse Program
This prevention program enrolls children from schools where over 50% of the student population resides in an area that is not accessible to a fluoridated water supply. The weekly fluoride rinse helps to rebuild tooth surfaces that are in the beginning stage of decay. Research documents up to a 35% reduction in dental caries (decay) for those enrolled. This program is made possible through the combined efforts and commitments of school principals, secretaries, teachers, nurses and many parent and grandparent volunteers. Read more.

“Smiles Across Michigan”
Smiles Across Michigan is a statewide endeavor to improve the oral health of people with developmental disabilities by assessing oral health needs, developing strategies for addressing those needs, and providing education and advocacy to encourage better oral hygiene and motivate accessible and appropriate care by oral health care professionals. Read more.

Donated Dental Program
Private dental offices located throughout the state provide donated care. Must be unable to afford dental treatment and permanently disabled, chronically ill or elderly. Must be extensive dental work, no routine care or emergency care. Read more.

Developmentally Disabled Dental Program
Provides limited funding to assist the severe developmentally disabled population to access dental services. Clients accepted for funding is through referral basis only from client case managers. Applications are available for case managers by contacting the Michigan Department of Community Health, Oral Health Program at oralhealth@michigan.gov.

Public Act 161 Outreach Program
In 2005, Public Act 161 was approved by the 93rd Legislature to provide rules in which a dental hygienist may provide preventive dental hygiene services to underserved patients. The law, in particular, regulates the supervision requirements for a hygienist practicing under PA 161. Under PA 161 a “dental hygienist may perform dental hygiene services under the supervision of a dentist as part of a program for dentally underserved populations in this state conduced by a local, state, or federal grantee health agency for patients who are not “assigned by a dentist.” In other words, the patient provided services by a PA 161 hygienist can not be a “patient of record” of a dentist. Read more.


Local

Miles of Smiles Mobile Dental Unit
Miles of Smiles mobile unit provides on-site dental services for qualifying low-income, uninsured; Medicaid insured; and MIChild participating children at schools, Head StartCenters, Health Department clinics, migrant camps and sites for dentally underserved children. Miles of Smiles mobile unit design includes a waiting area, laboratory, dual operatories, sound insulated rooms, an x-ray machine and wheel chair lift. The unit is equipped to provide preventative and restorative dental services for children and adults. A volunteer network of over 100 dentists, hygienists and students provide assistance on Miles of Smiles. The initiative is made possible through state grants, local foundations and county support. Miles of Smiles has been awarded several commendations for its innovative approach in addressing a major health problem for qualifying uninsured and Medicaid insured Ottawa County children. Contact: Ottawa County Health Department

Kalamazoo County’s Portable Offsite Dental Service
With a partnership between Kalamazoo County’s Portable Offsite Dental Service and Kalamazoo Communities In Schools, Kalamazoo Public Schools children will receive a visit with a dentist at school—sometimes the child’s first dental visit. The program is designed primarily for children who have MIChild and Healthy Child insurance. The County Health and Community Services dental clinic is a primary provider for children with these insurance carriers but issues such as transportation and scheduling often pose barriers for children needing care. Having the service available at school streamlines the process and means many more children will be seen. Parents without dental insurance can also sign their children up for the service and pay on a sliding scale based on income. Contact: Kalamazoo Communities in Schools

 HB 4213