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Poor children in Middletown have a hard time getting dental treatment, said O’Callahan. No private dentist in Middlesex County offers dental care to children on HUSKY, the state health insurance plan for poor children, he said.
The only place the children can get service is at the Community Health Center’s dental clinic on Main Street.
Margaret Flinter, VP and clinical director of the Community Health Center, says the dental clinic reaches 1,600 underprivileged children per year at the clinic, but needs to expand services to "bring dental services to where the children are."
Many underprivileged children in Middletown are still not getting preventative or acute care. A survey of 182 needy young children showed a quarter had tooth decay and four percent had graver problems needing advanced treatment.
While the program will focus on preventative care, it will also enable children with acute needs to find dental care.
The grant supports a program director who will make sure children who need dental surgery are given proper referrals.
The program manager will also train dentists to become more comfortable treating one-to-three-year-olds, said O’Callahan.
Equipment, including a small portable dental chair, has already been secured thanks to a grant from Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority.
The program will launch early next year, and will hopefully expand to Middletown elementary and middle schools, officials said.
"We want to make sure every one of our Middletown children gets what they need," said O’Callahan.
