West Virginia Perinatal Partnership

Committee on Oral Health Care in Pregnancy

Chair
Gina Sharps, RDH, WVU SOD, Morgantown

Members
--Jeannie Clark, RN, RFTS – Director, Charleston
--Paula Darby, RN, RFTS Region VII
--Donnie W. Haynes,OMCFH-Children’s Dentistry, Charleston
--Martha Cook Carter,  CNM, Director Family Care, Teays Valley/Charleston
--Richard Meckstroth, DDS, WVU-SOD, Morgantown
--Dee Messinger, RN, RFTS Region II
--Richard J. Crout, DMD, PhD, WVU SOD, Morgantown
--Lisa Dunn, DDS, Director of Dental Health Programs, WVU Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Division
--Allan Chamberlain, MD, OB/GYN Huntington
--Eros Chaces, DDS WVU SOD, Morgantown
--Jason Roush, DDS WV State Dental Director, OMCFH
Advisor
--Mary Bee Antholz, Health Care Authority Data 

Staff
--Bobbi Jo Muto, RDH, BS

Volunteer to serve on this Committee  

Oral Health Care

Over the past twenty five years a growing body of research has supported an association between poor oral health/chronic oral infection with the increased incidence of preterm labor and low birth-weight babies. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the second leading cause of infant mortality is the combination of premature birth and low birth-weight. The need to educate health care professionals in recognizing the direct correlation between oral health and overall health is paramount.  Reports on the Blueprint to Improve Perinatal Health (2007) further explicates the issue.

The Perinatal Partnership is working to:

• Encourage and support a broad partnership of health professionals to work together to assure that all health care providers are aware of the association between oral health and overall health, therefore recognizing the correlation between infectious oral disease and unfavorable birth outcomes.
• Encourage and support programs working with families to promote oral care before, during, and after pregnancy as a key strategy to improve maternal health, fetal development, infant health, and birth outcomes.
• Encourage the Bureau for Medical Services to review the reimbursement rates for Medicaid-covered dental services and evaluate the positive impact of preventable dental services for all women of childbearing age. Dental care for all pregnant women may result in an overall cost savings by reducing the number of PT/LBW incidences.

W. Va. Medical Infant and Child Oral Health Training Program

The West Virginia CHIP and WVU School of Dentistry announce the launch of the WV Medical Infant and Child Oral Health Training Program for the express purpose of reducing the rates of early childhood caries in at risk children throughout West Virginia. Read more.

Evidence-Based Guidelines for Health Professionals

Rolande Tellier Loftus of the CDA announced that “Oral Health During Pregnancy and Early Childhood: Evidence-Based Guidelines for Health Professionals” is available for download at www.cdafoundation.org/guidelines.

This significant body of work represents the outcome of a 2-day consensus conference held in Sacramento on February 20 - 21, 2009 in collaboration with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, District IX. In 2010 a companion policy brief will be posted on the CDA Foundation web site to accompany the Guidelines.

Latest Research on Relationship of Periodontal Treatment, Dental Care and Pregnancy Outcomes

A study published in the January 2011 issue of the American Journal of Public Health examined whether periodontal treatment or other dental care is associated with adverse birth outcomes within a medical and dental insurance database. Analyses showed that women who received preventive dental care had better birth outcomes than did those who received no treatment, and no evidence of increased odds of adverse birth outcomes from dental or periodontal treatment was observed. The study concluded that, for women with medical and dental insurance, preventive care is associated with a lower incidence of adverse birth outcomes. Reprints of the article may be ordered here.