North Central Health District 5-2's Oral Health Prevention Program helps to prevent oral disease among children through education, prevention and early treatment. In March 2011, Sherri Jones, district dental hygienist, started going into elementary schools in Houston County to provide dental care to children of varying ages.

Public health dental services are provided to children who are enrolled in Medicaid and PeachCare programs, as well as to low-income patients on a sliding-fee scale. The district dental program focuses on children in pre-K through third grade. These children receive a dental screening examination, dental sealants, fluoride treatments and oral hygiene education. The dental screening examination includes a dental inspection of the mouth to see if there are any dental or oral problems. The dental sealants the children receive is a plastic coating that is placed on the chewing surfaces of permanent molar teeth to seal out food and bacteria that cause tooth decay or cavities. A fluoride varnish application is given to children lacking an adequate source of fluoride. Jones also teaches school children the importance of proper brushing, flossing and nutrition for good dental health.

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is Feb. 7 and health advocates say the day serves as a reminder of the impact of the disease on black Americans, the importance of getting tested for HIV and the need for continued education and prevention.

On Feb. 2, the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) joined the Twenty Pearls Foundation, a nonprofit affiliated with the Tau Epsilon Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, in a day of education and observance at Greenbriar Mall in southwest Atlanta. Attendees heard speakers discuss HIV prevention, learned about agencies offering access to treatment and took rapid response HIV tests. The event's organizers had four messages for Georgia's black community: get educated, get tested, get treated and get involved.

New research appearing in "Clinical Chemistry," the journal of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry, shows that a hand-held mobile device can check patients' HIV status with just a finger prick and synchronize the results in real time with electronic health records. This technology takes a step toward providing remote areas of the world with diagnostic services traditionally available only in centralized healthcare settings.

Do you have an exciting public health project that needs the assistance and support of an intern or volunteer this summer? Does your project facilitate a learning environment where individuals can contribute their skills and abilities and at the same time increase their knowledge? If you answered yes to the above questions, we need your projects!