Northampton County Public Schools and Eastern Shore Rural Health announce School Dental Program

November 18, 2021
 |
Eastern Shore Rural Health Dental

Northampton County Public Schools students will be able to get dental care at school beginning this school year. The NCPS School Board approved an agreement with Eastern Shore Rural Health System, Inc. to provide services to prevent dental disease at Kiptopeke and Occohannock Elementary Schools and Northampton High/Middle School. Services will be provided through Rural Health’s Traveling Oral Health Prevention Program (TOPs), using portable dental equipment, to kick start this program. After dental needs have been determined, Rural Health plans to establish permanent on-site dental units in Northampton County that will serve the same schools. Dental offices will offer services to repair or replace diseased teeth in addition to services preventing oral disease. Permanent dental sites will be open year-round to ensure the care patients need is not interrupted or delayed.

With this program parents give permission for their children to be seen during the school day. The student is escorted to the dental provider and then back to class. Children do not have to attend school to be seen – parents and caregivers may make an appointment for any Northampton County child that is age 6 months to 18 years old.

“Per the American Academy of Pediatrics, chronic school absences associated with oral pain or infection increase the likelihood of poor academic and behavioral performance,” said NCPS Superintendent Eddie Lawrence. “Given poor oral health can keep a child from doing well in school, this year-round program is another way we can address situations that can prevent students from doing their best.”

“Tooth decay is the most prevalent childhood disease and is four times more common than asthma among children aged 5 to 17 years according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,” said Rural Health CEO Matt Clay. “As HHS says children with both poor oral health and poor general health are more than twice as likely to perform poorly in school, we feel this program is vital to both the health and well being of Northampton County school children.”

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Rural Health has partnered with Accomack County Public Schools to provide a dental program for ACPS students since 1995. On average, 3,000 Accomack County children are served by that program each year.

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