Dana Portillo, School Health Coordinator and School Based Dental Sealant Program Manager for the Department of Health of Monroe County, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about National Children’s Dental Health Month.
What are dental sealants, and why should a parent want them for their kids?
Portillo said, “It’s a good thing to be talking about, because February is dedicated to Children’s Dental Health, but it’s something that should be all 12 months of the year, and we should take care of our teeth. Dental sealants are, basically the simplest way to explain it is if you took fingernail polish and brushed it on. Obviously it’s not polish, but what it does is it provides a little barrier between your permanent teeth and the foods and the drinks that we have, and it helps to prevent some erosion or cavities in those teeth. So what happens is, when your child is evaluated, they make sure that whatever damage there isn’t already too far gone that we need further intervention, and then they can push this on, and then it helps to prevent them from turning into a cavity or worsening. So it’s just a really great thing. I don’t know if this existed when I was a child, but I’m pretty sure it didn’t, because I had those cavities and those fillings and it’s never a fun experience, but this is a very, way less traumatic experience for kids, and it helps preserve those teeth, and it’s just a really great program.”
Does it hurt and is there any down time for those who get the procedure?
Portillo said, “Absolutely not. That’s really the best part of it. When we have our dental sealant participants, they are geared towards second graders and seventh graders. It’s all based on when certain permanent teeth come in for evaluation and protection. Those students are, after their parents sign them up, they are evaluated by a dental professional. So they can look at the quality of their teeth and find out any concerns that would need to be possibly elevated to a dentist, and then if they need the sealants, then they would go ahead and brush those on. There is no prep, there’s no drilling, there’s no medications, nothing like that, and no downtime. It’s really done, and then are sent right back to class. It’s just really great and quick and efficient, and it’s something that I sure wish we had when I was younger.”
What about the parents who take their children to the dentist? Is this recommended for them?
Portillo said, “I think it’s recommended for everyone and what we have found over the years is Monroe County is paradise, right? It’s a beautiful place to live. It also costs like you’re trying to live in paradise and many of our kids either do not have a dental professional. They don’t have the means to get there. They do not have dental insurance, or maybe their dental insurance doesn’t cover certain things. So even if you have insurance, I recommend getting signed up and evaluated. If you don’t need it, you won’t get it. But it’s a great opportunity to really reinforce the positive habits. They do education on taking care of your teeth. Another set of eyes to evaluate things, it’s not a burden for the parents to either take their child to the dentist or to pay anything for it, so that’s really good. I wanted to mention that we have the sealant program for second and seventh graders, but AHEC is the group that does this. So Department of Health is the one that works with AHEC. We have a contract together. AHEC is the one doing the heavy lifting. They’re going in and doing these procedures and the process. But AHEC also has a dental van, and they go school to school. There’s a schedule already up on their website and the school district website, and for parents who have signed up and turn in the paperwork and made an appointment, they can also get sealants if they’re one of the other grades and it’s an appropriate time for them, they can get cleanings, and they can get checkups, and they can get fillings and all kinds of things. That’s not free, but it’s $10, so that’s the closest to free you’re going to get for any of those kinds of services. It’s the same individuals doing this work. So I just wanted to highlight that even if you can’t afford it, or you think you can afford it, but you’re kind of limited, and it would be helpful to you, this is a great resource, and I really recommend that people take the time to sign up for it.”
Is the sealant process performed in the mobile van?
Portillo said, “Yes. Now some of the sealants are done within the school, like they’ll set aside, maybe the media center or whatever, and it really depends on how many students have signed up for it. If there aren’t enough to really justify the extra hygienist and everybody coming that day to do it all at once, then they can fit them in along with the other appointments on the bus. So the service will be provided, and AHEC will be doing the figuring out of the dates and the times and the locations and all of that kind of stuff. But the service is available and it will be taken care of. But AHEC is the one to physically do it.”
What is the cost for the sealant program?
“Zero,” Portillo said. “You can’t beat zero for a cost, and it’s available to every second and seventh grader. Like I said, other grades can participate if they’re on the dental bus. But this is something that we have set aside based on the age where we expect certain permanent teeth to erupt, and so that’s the time for making sure that those teeth are protected.”
How long does the sealant last?
Portillo said, “Some sealants will be redone at some point. I don’t know that it’s based on a schedule. I think is really based on looking at the teeth whenever they’re evaluated in follow up visits, and if they feel that something needs to be addressed, and they will address it at that point. But it’s not something that you automatically know that, hey, if we do it now, then in two years, it needs to be redone or anything like that.”
How does a parent go about finding out more and possibly signing up their children for the service?
Portillo said, “At the beginning of the school year, the health history forms and all the paperwork that goes home for parents to fill out, it goes home in August, and so this paperwork also goes home in August or September. So the very first thing is check your child’s backpack. It could be any kind of a paper that needs to be addressed. So there’s information there. There is the permission slip and the permission slip is really like what you would fill out for any medical office visit. So you’ve got your demographic information, your health history information, allergies, those kinds of things, and it’s awareness of what is done and kind of the process. So that’s very simple. If you miss out on that, you can always reach out to your school nurse or the school health tech if your school happens to have one, they have information about it. They have the permission slip. They also have information on AHEC’s website, and they have a whole section for dental. So they have the permission slips in English and Creole and Spanish. Then if you do all of that, you will need to submit it, and then you will need to make an appointment. And the phone number for AHEC to schedule is 305-743-7111, 220, is the extension that is the prompt for the dental program.”
Is there a way for a child who is not in second or seventh grade to get the sealant?
Portillo said, “Just fill out your fill out the permission slip, not for the dental sealant program, but just overall for AHEC dental and be evaluated. So they are providing this service for these other students. I don’t want to say all of them, because if they don’t have the appropriate teeth yet, or they’re younger, or something, that may not be right for them, but they will do that on the bus. So they capture more for sealants than what we have just in our program that’s set aside for second and seventh graders.”
It’s never too late to turn in the health history form for your child.
Portillo said, “Some of the schools are reaching out to parents who still have not turned in that health history form from August. It is a sincere text message, Blackboard message, email. We are supposed to have one for every child, and it does give consent to see your child. If you don’t want us to see your child, please turn in the form and put do not see in the clinic, just so we have this requirement and that we know that it has been an informed decision on your part. I just ask that.”
For more information, click here: https://monroe.floridahealth.gov/index.html