Education & Resources
Oral Health Prevention
Pediatricians and other non-dental professionals play a vital role in promoting children’s oral health and preventing unnecessary disease. The American Academy of Pediatrics created the Oral Health Prevention Primer, an interactive online resource for pediatricians and other providers who want to do more to address the oral health needs of children.
Maternal Oral Health
An unhealthy mouth can impact so many areas of our life. The Ripple Effect of Poor Oral Health During Pregnancy and Adulthood flyer shows how barriers to accessing dental care impacts more than just our mouths.
Staff Training on Daily Tooth Brushing Routine in the Classroom
Steps for Toothbrushing at the Table: Growing Healthy Smiles in Early Child Care and Education Programs (6 minute video),
A video for Head Start and child care staff, trains staff to begin a daily tooth brushing routine in Head Start and child care programs.
Fact Sheets on Oral Health Topics
Below are educational fact sheets on different oral health topics that have been developed by the Oral Health Center. These materials can be downloaded and used within your community.
Spanish Version- Oral Health for Infants, Children, and Adolescents (Salud bucal para bebés, niños y adolescentes) 
Medicaid Dental Periodicity for Children
Iowa’s periodicity schedule of dental services for Medicaid-enrolled children identifies the types of services recommended based upon the age of a child and risk for dental disease. The recommendations were developed using information from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and also Iowa’s definition of a dental home.
Oral Health Data on Iowa Public Health Tracking Portal
The Iowa Public Health Tracking Portal displays oral health related hospitalizations and emergency department visits. The data is displayed in a standard way over time to better understand the impact across Iowa, to inform the public, and to aid state and local partners in program planning and evaluation efforts.
Measures of oral health available on the portal include:
- Oral health hospitalizations
- Oral health emergency department visits
Public Health Supervision of Dental Hygienists
In 2003, the Iowa Dental Board approved a rule change allowing "public health supervision" of a dental hygienist. A dental hygienist may enter into a collaborative agreement with a dentist, allowing the hygienist to provide services to a patient in a public health setting, prior to the patient seeing a dentist for an exam. The Oral Health Center is responsible for collecting the collaborative agreements and annual reports from the dental hygienists working under public health supervision.
For more information, visit the Iowa Dental Board.
Public Health Supervision of Dental Assistants
In 2015, the Iowa Dental Board approved a rule change allowing “public health supervision “ of a dental assistant. A dental assistant may enter into a collaborative agreement with a dentist, allowing the assistant to provide services to a patient in a public health setting, prior to a patient seeing a dentist for an exam. The Oral Health Center and the Iowa Dental Board are responsible for collecting collective agreements and annual reports from the dental assistants working under public health supervision.