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CHP Receives Grant to Fund Project Aimed at Improving Oral Health for Adults with Developmental Disabilities

Community Health Partnership, Inc. (CHP) has been awarded a Collaboration Development Grant from the Wisconsin Partnership Program. The $66,748 grant will fund an Oral Health Improvement project and assist CHP in its efforts to improve the oral health of adults with developmental disabilities who reside in Chippewa and Dunn counties. Rather than consumers relying solely on dental clinics, the project will use the strategy of going to an individual's place of residence to provide oral health evaluation, training, and preventive oral health care.

The Grant project is designed to have a dental hygienist visit people with developmental disabilities in their homes - first doing an assessment, then developing a good tooth brushing and cleaning plan, and finally teaching the person with the disability and home support staff how to do appropriate brushing and cleaning. The dental hygienist can also teach people about better nutrition and how to get ready for a visit to the dental office.

The dental hygienist will also collaborate with the Chippewa Valley Technical College Dental Hygiene program and arrange for students to accompany the dental hygienist on home visits. These visits will be an opportunity for dental hygiene students to gain first hand experience in working with people who have developmental disabilities and will enhance their professional knowledge.

According to Rick Sommerfeld, Developmental Disabilities Coordinator at CHP, people with developmental disabilities have poorer oral health and oral hygiene compared to the general population. "People with developmental disabilities often have a difficult time brushing their teeth or do not like to brush their teeth," says Sommerfeld. "Another concern is that other individuals tasked with providing support, including our own CHP clinical staff, may not always know the best way to help people with developmental disabilities brush their teeth. Unfortunately, the end result is that when these people go to the dentist, they often have cavities, gingivitis, or have teeth that need to be pulled."

Sommerfeld points out that an important component of this project is demonstrating its efficacy. "We are working with the University of Wisconsin-Stout to analyze the initial assessments and the results in 8-10 months. The University will set this up as an advanced student project, giving the students an opportunity to participate in a real-world experience," says Sommerfeld. In addition to analyzing the data, students will interview the people who are receiving this service and will be looking for personal feedback on the effectiveness of the teaching. "Community Health Partnership believes this type of preventive teaching and early intervention can save money and decrease problems in the long run. If this project proves to be effective and beneficial, we hope to continue, expand, and improve this unique service," says Sommerfeld.

While the project is targeted at Chippewa Valley residents, it looks to further Wisconsin's State Health Plan priority of improving access to primary and preventive health services. Specifically, it will address the outcome objectives of increasing the proportion of Medicaid recipients who receive ongoing preventive and restorative oral health care and advance the priority of improving adequate and appropriate nutrition as it relates to oral health. The project will also advance the goals of the federal Healthy People 2010 initiative by raising the prevalence of health promotion for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities and their caregivers.