News Release
September 25, 2013
OHCA Contacts: Jo Kilgore - (405) 522-7474, Jennie Melendez - (405) 522-7404
Riverside Dental Event Continues To Provide Education, Tools
ANADARKO -- More than 470 students of the Riverside Indian Boarding School received dental evaluations during a recent back-to-school event. Efforts to improve oral health and provide health education to students of the Anadarko school have led to positive results since the first event took place in 2009.
“Overall, children categorized as in need of urgent dental care has decreased since the first event held four years ago,” said Dana Miller, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority’s Tribal Relations director. “This shows what we’ve always known, that the effort and collaboration between state, federal, tribal, and private partners is making a positive impact on the lives of these children.”
The OHCA’s Tribal Relations unit, in cooperation with Indian Health Services (IHS), the Oklahoma City Area Intertribal Health Board, and private partners participated in the annual event. The Tribal Relations unit secured a generous donation from the Colgate-Palmolive Company and the Oklahoma City Area Intertribal Health Board to supply dental products for the students for this year’s event.
A total of 472 students received dental evaluations. Each student will get follow-up care at the local IHS clinic.
Since its inception, this event has provided donated dental products such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, and dental floss to the students. The students were also educated on how to achieve and maintain good oral health.
Additionally, nurses from IHS and OHCA were on hand to take the students’ blood pressure, measure their weight and height, and check other vital signs.
Jana S. Winfree, DDS, chief of the dental health service unit with the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH), and Susan Potter, dental programs administration manager at the OSDH, demonstrated effective techniques for proper brushing and flossing to the students.
For more information about the Oklahoma Health Care Authority and its programs, please visit www.okhca.org.
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