Friday, April 4, 2025
4/4/2025
State Promotion of Strategies to Advance Oral Health - Project Abstract South Carolina has seen some slight gains in dental access; however, great disparities continue to exist particularly in the rural areas of our state where a significant number of children have limited access to preventive interventions such as fluoride varnish, dental sealants, and optimally fluoridated water. These areas have a high prevalence of Type 2 diabetes as well. In response to identified oral health disparities, the Advancing Oral Health in SC initiative will support state and community-based interventions and practices to address oral disease in impoverished rural communities in South Carolina that are experiencing disparities. Incorporating lessons learned from Component 1 and 2 of the CDC 1810 Cooperative Agreement and previous funding opportunities, South Carolina is applying for RFA-DP-24-0048 State Promotion of Strategies to Advance Oral Health to strengthen state and community level efforts to effectively identify and prioritize groups that are experiencing persistent health disparities, inequities, and the burden of oral disease. Our approach to reduce oral health disparities is to develop an expanded surveillance system that includes the collection, analysis, and dissemination of primary and secondary data to support community-based strategies to increase integration of medical and dental services, access to EBDPS, and optimal community water fluoridation. Increased adherence to Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) guidelines across multiple settings will be implemented as a programmatic priority. Outcomes Community Water Fluoridation • Increased receipt of fluoridation data, from systems statewide, especially among water systems serving 10,000 or fewer people. • Increased access to water from optimally fluoridated water systems state-wide, especially among water systems serving 10,000 or fewer people. Data Analysis to Support Medical Dental Integration • Increased dissemination of analyzed secondary data about relationships between the oral health of adults with Type 2 diabetes, their overall health, as well as their use of and access to medical and dental care. Evidence-Based Preventive Dental Services (EBPDS) • Increased availability of and access to local/small area and state program data, EBPDS programs, and information about Medicaid/CHIP enrolled children receiving EBPDS within a state. • Increased access to EBPDS in identified areas for community-based integration. Infection Prevention and Control • Increased awareness and use of dental IPC recommendations and resources statewide, especially among EBPDS school programs, and other dental programs or facilities serving communities with oral health disparities. The Advancing Oral Health in SC proposal will seek solutions to these challenges through expanded surveillance including a GAP Analysis that will be completed in Year 1 across 17 rural counties in the “corridor of shame.” This will be done to identify 3-4 counties for community-based interventions that will support substantive and lasting improvements in addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) in these impoverished rural areas and further inform oral health improvements across the state of South Carolina.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).