The Community Health Center of the North Country recently adopted the school-based Dental Sealant Program from St. Lawrence County's Public Health Department, which successfully administered the program for over 25 years.
This NYS Department of Health sponsored program provides dental health screenings, education and sealants to children in grades 2 to 3 with parental consent. The program will provide services to 15 school districts within St. Lawrence County, where 23 clinics will be setup within those districts.
The Community Health Center of the North Country decided to continue to run the program in the realization that the discontinuation of the program would have left a large gap in preventative dental care services in St. Lawrence County.
Dental sealants are thin plastic coatings that are applied to the grooves on the chewing surfaces of the back teeth to protect them from tooth decay. Most tooth decay in children and teens occurs on these surfaces.
Sealants protect the chewing surfaces from tooth decay by keeping germs and food particles out of these grooves.
The Dental Sealant Program will provide services to the following schools:
West Side Elementary, Gouverneur, from October 3rd to October 14th;
East Side Elementary/St. James, Gouverneur, from October 14th to October 31st;
Fowler Elementary, Gouverneur, from November 1 to November 7th;
Hammond Central from December 2nd to December 9th; Morristown Central from December 12th to December 15th;
Heuvelton Central from March 22nd to March 28th;
Hermon-DeKalb from April 24th to April 26th.
Schools in other sections of the county are also participating in the program. For dates for thos schools check the website at the end of this article.
For information regarding the Dental Sealant Program, contact Joanne Wellings, Dental Hygienist, or Bonnie Emburey, Certified Dental Assistant, at (315) 386-8191.
For more information about the Community Health Center of the North Country, visit the website at www.cpnorthcountry.org.