Oral Health
Georgia Oral Health Coalition
The Georgia Oral Health Coalition Moves Forward, 2009
The Georgia Oral Health Coalition (GOHC) was formed in 1996 to enhance the infrastructure of the Oral Health Unit of the Georgia Department of Public Health. . The GOHC has been instrumental in addressing oral health infrastructure for the state. The in-kind contribution of agencies and organizations, as well as donated time of individuals in the GOHC resulted in major changes that retained and expanded the state dental public health program. . The Georgia Oral Health Program was established in 1928 and celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2008. The GOHC's strategy raised the priority of oral health, which resulted in developing a state oral health plan, starting the expansion of the Statewide School-based Georgia Oral Health Prevention Programs, and significantly increasing Dental Medicaid fees. Since then, economic conditions in the state and nation have changed, the population of Georgia has increased, and oral health surveillance suggests much more is needed to improve the oral health of Georgians.
How Can Things Change?
In 2008, the Georgia Oral Health Program was awarded the CDC Cooperative Oral Health grant to strengthen the infrastructure of the state office to provide oral health surveillance and evaluation of programs, and enhance existing oral disease prevention programs in Georgia. Under its cooperative agreement with CDC, the Georgia Oral Health Program has additional resources to support the mission of the statewide Oral Health Coalition. With this support and the collaboration of strategic partners, the oral health program will be able to better address the areas critical to developing state-level and community-based programs. Such partnerships will avoid duplication of effort, ensure synergy of resources, and enhance the overall leadership within the state. New efforts are moving forward to create a climate in Georgia that:
- Identifies disparities and the populations vulnerable to oral diseases through increased surveillance and data collection efforts;
- Promotes the importance of oral health in overall health through education of healthcare providers and the general public;
- Seeks to improve state policies that influence oral health;
- Stimulates increased oral health knowledge through education;
- Increases cooperation among community programs and state agencies to improve oral health; and
- Supports improved access to oral health care for the underserved.
Presently, Dr. Joseph Alderman, serves as a consultant for the Georgia Oral Health Coalition.
The new GOHC membership includes:
- Public Health Units in Georgia
- Nutrition
- WIC
- Infectious Diseases
- Refugee Services
- Children and Youth with Special Needs
- Comprehensive Child Health Services
- Women’s Health
- American Academy of Pediatrics, GA Chapter
- Georgia Academy of Family Physicians
- Georgia School Nurses Association
- Fulton County Health Department
- LaGrange Health District
- East Metro Health District
- South Central (Dublin) Health District
- DeKallb County Health Department
- Clayton County Health Department
- Gainesville Health District
- Georgia Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
- Georgia Association For Primary Health Care
- Georgia Public Health Association
- Georgia Dental Association
- Georgia Dental Hygienists Association
- Georgia Dental Society
- Georgia Chapter, American College of Nurse Midwives
- Help a Child Smile Mobile Dentistry Group
- Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of GA
- Voices for Georgia’s Children
- Head Start Bright Futures Collaborative
- Dental Hygiene Educators Association of Georgia
- Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry
- United Concordia
- Consumers
- Advocates
- Private Practice Dentists
This new effort to actively shift more attention on the oral health needs of the citizens of Georgia needs assistance from you and your organization to strengthen and sustain collaborations and partnerships for improved oral health for Georgians.
Georgia Oral Health Coalition Programs: (Year Started)
- Special Olympics, Special Smiles (SOSS): 1994
- Georgia Spit Tobacco Education Program (GSTEP): 1996
- Prevent Abuse and Neglect through Dental Awareness (P.A.N.D.A.): 1997
- Seal Georgia: 1997
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