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Norton Children’s Prevention & Wellness has focused on the promotion of preventive oral health for children in Greater Louisville since 2018.
Why Do We Focus on Oral Health?
About 80% of parents rely on their child’s pediatrician for oral health advice, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dental cavities continue to be the No. 1 preventable chronic disease in children over childhood asthma and obesity.
Our Efforts to Improve Dental Health in Our Community
Since 2018 Norton Children’s Prevention & Wellness has helped integrate fluoride varnish at over 30 Norton Healthcare offices. All offices that actively apply fluoride varnish receive toothbrush packs and dental health flyers for their patients to take home.
Annual educational events are provided at all Norton Children’s Medical Group primary care locations to educate providers and staff on preventive dental care recommendations.
Each February during National Children’s Dental Health Month, Norton Children’s Prevention & Wellness visits local libraries and medical facilities bringing preventive dental health education and resources to the community. In 2023, our team educated 1,700 individuals on the importance of dental health. To find related resources for your pediatric patients, including videos and downloadable PDFs, visit our Tooth Fairy Tips.
Email NCPW@nortonhealthcare.org if you are interested in bringing dental health education to your community, school or facility.
In 2019, more than 1,500 dental referrals were sent from Norton Children’s primary care offices to dentists through an online platform. Due to lack of funding, the online platform was discontinued in early 2020. Norton Healthcare now is under contract with Unite Us, an online social needs referral platform that allows direct referrals between providers. Our goal is to revive our past dental referral programming success through the new Unite Us platform. If you are a dental office interested in joining the Unite Us platform, click here.
In 2023, we partnered with Norton Women’s Doula Program to screen expectant patients for dental health needs, connect them to dentists and provide financial assistance for dental care. Our pilot program is in collaboration with Shawnee Christian Healthcare Center. Referrals are sent through the Unite Us platform. All patients who are screened for dental health needs receive a dental health gift to encourage healthy oral habits at home.
Norton Children’s Prevention & Wellness continues to inform the Kentucky Dental Association on our efforts and goals for dental health in our community. Click here to view all of our presentations.
Our goal is to educate dental professionals on what you can do to support your patient’s holistic needs and safety through social need referrals and on-site resources. In addition to the information detailed in our Kentucky Dental Association presentations referenced above, we offer a variety of community classes and events for your patients and their families. To learn more, download our class flyer to share with staff and patients. If you are interested in getting your staff car seat certified, sign up here.
Be sure to check out our provider resources for safety and prevention education to share with your staff.