The UCLA Children’s Center for Oral Health will play a role in addressing the importance of how children’s oral health is approached through policy and advocacy. Collaboration amongst various organizations, campaigning for legislative reform, as well as training pediatric dental residents will be essential for effective change to take place.

Policy & Advocacy

Introduction to Policy and Advocacy in Pediatric Dentistry - Online Course

AAPD Advocacy Day
Annually, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) organizes an opportunity for first year UCLA pediatric dental residents to visit the Hill in Washington, DC. The residents, accompanied by mentors, including dental faculty and private-practice dentists from Los Angeles, are given the opportunity to make appointments with representatives including senators and congressmen and congresswomen to advocate for policies that promote oral health in children For many residents, this is their first experience presenting to elected officials and advocating for legislation that can address the specific oral health needs in the communities that they will serve.
IAPD Policy on Infant Oral Health
Dr. Francisco Ramos-Gomez, with a global team of dentists, drafted a policy on infant oral health to be implemented on a global scale, which will be adopted by the International Association of Paediatric Dentistry (IAPD) in Summer 2016. Children 0-3 years of age have unique oral health challenges due to their dependence on parents and caregivers. Starting with pregnant women and their infants, it is essential that providers be aware of all associated risk factors of dental caries and ECC, make appropriate decisions regarding timely and effective interventions for pregnant women, and facilitate the establishment of a dental home when the first tooth erupts, or by age one. There should be a coordinated and integrated effort of parents, daycare centers, schools, health ministries and other stakeholders to increase awareness of the value of good oral health from infancy and decrease the intake of sugar in all its forms at an early age.

Recommendations from the policy to reduce ECC, efficient perinatal and infant oral health preventive measures should include:
  • Primary health care professionals who serve pregnant women should provide education on the etiology and prevention of ECC.
  • Oral health counseling and referrals for a comprehensive oral examination and treatment during pregnancy is especially important for the mother.
  • Encouraging the integration of medical, dental, and other health care services, allowing providers to promote collaborative efforts with individuals, families, communities, policy-makers, and governments, to offer accessible and consistent oral health messages and services to vulnerable populations.
  • The curriculum of all allied health professional programs should include education in perinatal oral health, including the role of sugars in the complex etiology of ECC, methods of oral health risk assessment, anticipatory guidance, the need for judicious fluoride therapy (F toothpaste), and the early establishment of a dental home.
  • Implementing government surveillance systems focused specifically on dental caries in the primary dentition of infants and preschoolers (0-5 years) in all countries. Legislators, policy makers and third party payers should be educated about the benefits of perinatal intervention in order to support efforts that improve access to oral health care and services for pregnant women, including more frequent and comprehensive services.

Little Hoover Commission 

The independent commission prepared a lengthy report on the state of California’s Denti-Cal program. As part of its study, the Commission explored potential improvements to make the Denti-Cal program easier to use and more attractive and viable for providers.  It also examined Medicaid dental programs in other states and examined improvements that have reduced so-called “red tape” and increased the number of providers.

Dental Transformation Initiative 

Within the Medi-Cal 2020 Waiver, the Dental Transformation Initiative (DTI) represents a critical mechanism to improve dental health for Medi-Cal children by focusing on high-value care, improved access, and utilization of performance measures to drive delivery system reform. More specifically, this strategy aims to increase the use of preventive dental services for children, prevent and treat more early childhood caries, and increase continuity of care for children. Given the importance of oral health to the overall health of an individual, California views improvements in dental care as critical to achieving overall better health outcomes for Medi-Cal beneficiaries, particularly children.
FDI Statement
In 2014, a Policy Statement on the subject of Perinatal and Infant Oral Health led by Dr. Francisco Ramos-Gomez along with other dentists was adopted by the FDI World Dental Federation in New Delhi, India. This policy addresses the chronic disease of early childhood caries (ECC) impacting children 6 years of age and younger and how poor maternal oral health can be a contributing factor. Preventative measures through education and interprofessional collaboration of healthcare providers are discussed to reduce ECC and to improve perinatal oral health. This policy heavily advocates the training of pediatric oral health for primary healthcare providers, who are able to utilize and implement the preventative measures at a greater frequency. In addition, improving the health literacy of patients, parents and caregivers is required in order to reduce the prevalence of ECC. ​