Oral Health

(08/04/2022) Purchase District Health Department’s Floss and Gloss Program to Expand with Silver Diamine Fluoride

The Floss and Gloss Program provides dental services in 38 schools across Western Kentucky.  The program is expanding to include asynchronous exams and silver diamine fluoride (SDF) by utilizing teledentistry. This expansion is made possible by a partnership with local dentists, Dr. Whitney Deitz and Dr. Andrea Becker of Aspen Dental. This is in addition to our current program which provides a dental assessment, cleaning, fluoride varnish, and sealants (if applicable).

Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) is a topically applied liquid that controls active dental caries (cavities) and aids in preventing further progression of the caries process. It is now well recognized internationally that oral health among school-aged children should be a high priority since it can affect their quality of life and general health and nutrition. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved using 38% silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for treating dental sensitivity and for managing dental caries (cavities).  Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) was also granted a breakthrough therapy status by the FDA.
All the counties in the Purchase Area are either in full or in part a Health Provider Shortage Area and a medically underserved area. Nearly every county served by Floss and Gloss has a higher poverty rate than the state average. Additionally, Fulton County, KY is a persistent poverty county. Children living in poverty are 5x more likely to have untreated dental decay than children from higher-income families. Those that were poor or low-income minority children, or had special needs, were significantly more likely to have a toothache. Additionally, one study showed that tooth decay early in life has been related to “impaired development, low educational performance, poor behavior, family stress, diminished quality of life, and even disability and death” and children with poor oral health were 3x more likely to miss school.

“It doesn’t matter if you are 4 years old or 104 years old, it matters how you feel about yourself when you smile in the mirror.  Oral health is part of overall health and children deserve the ability to learn without worrying about an abscessed and painful tooth.” -Dr. Whitney Deitz

The lack of access to providers able and willing to see these children is compounded by the fact that transportation is a barrier to our residents when seeking any sort of medical care. The ability to arrest dental caries (cavities) while families navigate various barriers in seeking dental care will not only improve dental outcomes for our children but have positive lifelong impacts by addressing health inequities and disparities.

The purpose of adding SDF to the program is to manage dental caries (cavities) among school-aged children. Children in the Floss and Gloss Program are referred to local dentists to help establish a dental home. For children with moderate and urgent needs on Medicaid, the Floss and Gloss Program will administer SDF treatment as prescribed by our partner dentists utilizing General Supervision and teledentistry exams. These children will receive a treatment plan from our partnering dentists. The treatment plan will include intra-oral photos, proposed treatment, and notes provided by the examining dentist. The treatment record and treatment plan will be sent in a packet to the guardian following the asynchronous exam.