YUCCA VALLEY — Preventing dental disease in children across the Morongo Basin is the goal of the Morongo Basin Healthcare District’s new dental program.
The new Virtual Dental Home Initiative was presented by Ronald A. Stewart, executive director of the district’s two health clinics, March 1.
The new program uses technology to link health center providers working in settings like schools throughout the Morongo Basin with dentists at other locations.
Dental disease is the No. 1 chronic disease of children, more common than obesity and asthma, and it is almost entirely preventable, according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control. For children, providing access to preventive services early prevents dental disease.
The health care district was awarded a two-year, $531,720 grant from First 5 Riverside and San Bernardino and recently signed a contract to provide dental screenings for school-age children over the next three years.
The grant has two components. One is to provide virtual dental care, with a goal of serving 467 children annually. The second is assessment of young children’s oral health, with the goal of serving 2,400 children.
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