COHN partners with AAP of Maine to keep children healthy
by Anne Stokes
Many hands make light work. And when you’re trying to make seismic changes to a broken system in the name of healthy children and families, without many hands the work is simply not possible. The Children’s Oral Health Network (COHN) of Maine is working hard to make sure children receive oral health care early and often, combating the often preventable pain and suffering of dental disease.
But with a lack of oral healthcare providers throughout the state — particularly ones who treat young children — it’s a job that takes the combined efforts of innovative community and health care partners dedicated to making sure the system has the capacity to serve all people in Maine well.
“I don’t think there’s any other way to achieve those goals. … If we want to end up with the system operating differently, we all have to figure out how to move there together,” says Becca Matusovich, COHN’s executive director. “And then there’s lots of different ideas on how to get there because different things work in different settings, for different people.”
“If we want to end up with the system operating differently, we all have to figure out how to move there together.”
Becca Matusovich, Executive director, Children’s Oral Health Network
One of those partners is the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Their efforts include supporting and educating pediatricians on elements of basic and preventative oral health care to assess or prevent dental problems before children are able to see a dentist. The aim is to improve communications between pediatricians and dentists to increase access to care and help hammer home the connection between oral and physical health.
“Maine pediatricians are learning more about oral health assessment and treatment as a result of this partnership and the educational sessions we’ve been able to provide,”says Dee Kerry, executive director of the AAP’s Maine chapter. “Pediatricians are partnering with dentists and hygienists to implement innovative solutions such as e-consults, and better coordinate care for their patients.”
Kerry says the partnership also includes several professional associations, including the Maine Association of School Nurses, Maine Medical and Dental Associations and the Maine Dental Hygienists’ Association.
Dr. Jeff Stone knows firsthand the disconnect between dental and other medical care providers. A Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a leader in COHN’s oral health integration efforts, he remembers receiving little oral health care education during his training. “Now [we’ve] come to realize that dental health is part of the body and overall medical health,” he shares.
Dr. Stone, now retired, led his Waterville Pediatrics practice to be one of the first to staff dental hygienists, helping patients access basic preventive care such as cleanings and fluoride varnish treatments. It also helped him build relationships with dental care providers and make patient referrals.
“If I hear a heart murmur in a kid, I’m going to send them to the cardiologist, right? But we don’t do that with dentists. Now we’re making efforts to try and do hand-offs,” he says. “I think that physicians and dentists should all work together. It’s all for the same cause, for the child’s health.”
To find out more about the work being done in Maine by Children’s Oral Health Network, visit www.mainecohn.org.
