The School and Community Oral Health program goes into schools to check children’s teeth and give them dental sealants. Depending on your child's school district, we are able to give sealants to kids in grades 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8.
We also:
- Help parents schedule dental appointments for their child when we see a problem
- Check and fix existing sealants.
We work with schools that serve low-income families (at least 40% of students qualify for the free and/or reduced lunch). All of our staff who apply sealants are trained dental professionals.
This program is offered at schools because of how easy and pain-free it is. It’s also a convenient for parents and children—no missed work or school days.
What are dental sealants?
Dental sealants are a thin plastic coating placed onto certain teeth to help prevent cavities. They protect areas that toothbrushes and floss can’t get to. Even children with good toothbrushing habits can benefit from sealants. Getting sealants is completely painless. More about dental sealants»
Cost
Free for any child, with or without insurance. All parents need to do is to sign and return the permission slip and we take care of the rest. There is no cost to schools.
Permission Slip - English (892.36 KB)
Permission Slip - Spanish (860.63 KB)
Permission Slip - Russian (960.58 KB)
Permission Slip - Vietnamese (863.65 KB)
My child already has sealants. Why do they need this?
It’s important that sealants be checked regularly. We want to see all children even if they already have sealants because:
- Sealants can become damaged or fall out
- We may be able to apply more sealant as the tooth grows in further
The Sealant Team at Your School
Room requirements:
- Space large enough for a dental unit, 2 chairs, 2 small supply tables
- 2 accessible power outlets
- 2 trash cans (provided by the school)
We can work in all sorts of spaces and rooms. If you’re unsure about space, we can come to your school to help find one.
Scheduling
We do our best to stick to the date we scheduled with your school. However, dates are tentative since the number of days we spend at each school depends on the number of permission slips turned in. We will always call you immediately to discuss date changes, and we always call just prior to our arrival.
Fitting Sealant Day Around Other School Activities
We can work through and around most activities you may have happening at your school. We can usually navigate around field trips, reading groups, testing periods and assemblies by moving to a different class or asking the teacher to send children as they finish activities.
We strive to make as minimal disruptions as possible. When we schedule a sealant day at your school, simply tell us what’s happening that day so we know in advance.
How Schools Can Help
Teachers and principals tell us they want as many children as possible to participate. Since the number of permission slips returned dictates how many children we can serve, we need the whole school to get involved in trying to get back as many as possible.
Here’s how you can help:
- Send automated calls and messages to parents
- Write newsletter articles reminding parents to return permission slips
- Request teacher training and information sharing sessions about the dental sealant program
- Hold permission slip return challenges among teachers and between schools
- Communicate (to staff and teachers) about which students have not returned slips
- Set goals to increase the number of children served from last year
- Include information and permission slips in start-of-school packets and other mailings
Contact Us
School and Community Oral Health Program, 503-988-3905
Request info »