Delta Dental Cavity Prevention Clinic Conducted in Tulsa

Students are receiving sealants through the Delta Dental Cavity Prevention Clinic for the first time in Tulsa. These sealants, a clear plastic coating that goes on molars, prevent 80 percent of cavities in the back teeth.

In 2016, the Delta Dental of Oklahoma (DDOK) Oral Health Foundation launched the Delta Dental Cavity Prevention Clinic, which allows children to receive free dental sealants on their molars. More than 1,000 students in the OKC Metro area were treated during the pilot year. Now the DDOK Oral Health Foundation is conducting these clinics outside of the OKC Metro for the first time.

The program targets schools with 80 percent or higher rates of participation in the Federal Free and Reduced Meals Program. Children in this program are statistically at higher risk for dental decay. The program is designed to seal new molars of at-risk second- and sixth-grade students and to help connect them to nearby dental practices.

“If the parents have hourly jobs and can’t take off work, those preventative visits get put off. That’s an ideal situation for us to come in and do this part,” said Terrisa Singleton, director of the Delta Dental of Oklahoma Oral Health Foundation in a recent interview with Mike Averill of Tulsa World. Read the full article here.

The Delta Dental of Oklahoma Oral Health Foundation is funded entirely by proceeds from Delta Dental of Oklahoma to support and produce dental care and education programs in the state.