News

Friday, August 28, 2009

Board Recognizes Several Organizations That Provide Dental Services to Districts’ Children in Need

This week, the board of education recognized several agencies for their role in providing services such as dental education, dental screening, and additional services to children in our district.

The Cornelia Moore Dental Foundation was founded in 1915 with the purpose of providing free dental treatment to low-income children without Medi-Cal or insurance coverage in the Santa Barbara, Goleta, or Carpinteria. The goal was to provide immediate assistance for children suffering from dental pain. Referrals are usually made by the school nurses or social services agencies. Parents are asked to contribute $20 to the treating dentist, and dentists are paid at reduced-fee schedule arrangements with the organization.

The Santa Barbara-Ventura Counties Dental Society has had a continued partnership with our school districts and collaborated with over 30 local agencies interested in oral health.

Direct Relief is generally recognized for it’s international programs, but it also is committed to helping address the health needs of our immediate community. Since 1994, DRI’s Healthy Smiles Dental Program has worked to help bridge the gap of access to oral health services among uninsured, low-income children in Santa Barbara County. The program is designed to provide treatment and preventative modules in an effort to reduce the incident of poor oral health in the community.

Santa Barbara County Education Office’s Health Linkages improves oral health of children 0-5 through education, prevention, screening, and treatment.

We thank these agencies and their partners for the good work that they do for our students.