KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - The King County Health Action Plan received a grant for $84,580 from the Washington Dental Service Foundation to start an Access to Baby and Child Dentistry (ABCD) program in King County. ABCD focuses on preventive and restorative dental care for low-income children by educating families on the importance of baby teeth and routine dental care and training dentists to see young children.

"We are constantly finding ways to improve health services to children," said King County Executive Ron Sims. "Providing dental care for children has been a challenge nationally, and locally we are creatively addressing this challenge."

Currently in King County there are over 50,000 Medicaid eligible children five years of age and younger, but less than a third of this population utilizes dental services and less than 5% of infants and toddlers (one year or less) have seen a dentist.

"By educating families and increasing provider capacity, we are making strides in making sure children have access to preventive dental services," said Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director of Public Health - Seattle & King County. "Our ultimate goal is to provide comprehensive health services to all children so they may live healthy and productive lives."

In King County, ABCD will be part of the King County Health Action Plan's Kid Get Care program that ensures children, regardless of insurance status, receive early integrated preventive physical, oral and developmental health services through attachment to a health care home. King County is the largest of 16 ABCD programs across Washington State.

"Peer to peer recruitment of dentists in King County is a key to success," said David Silver, co-chair of the ABCD Task Force, Seattle - King County Dental Society. "We have a successful formula. The training that will be provided through the University of Washington School of Dentistry will give dentists extra confidence to treat very young children, and the outreach to the community provided by Kids Get Care teaches parents about the importance of their children's baby teeth."

Tracy Garland, president and CEO of the Washington Dental Service Foundation (WDSF), said, "Programs such as ABCD that focus on prevention save a lot of money, which is especially important in these tight budget times. We'd like to see ABCD programs in every county in the state because they are the right thing to do."

The King County Health Action Plan's Kids Get Care Program

Kids Get Care represents an ongoing effort by more than 30 collaborating organizations under the umbrella of the King County Health Action Plan and is its largest program. Partners include the Washington Dental Service Foundation, Washington Health Foundation, Community Health Centers of King County, Harborview Medical Center, the Central Area Health Center, the University of Washington, Children's Hospital and Medical Center, Swedish Health Services and the Community Health Plan of Washington, among others.

The King County Health Action Plan convenes leaders throughout the health care field to implement public-private joint ventures that integrate health promotion strategies with the current medical system. To learn more about the King County Health Action Plan, please visit: www.metrokc.gov/health/kchap.

The ABCD program

The ABCD program recently received the prestigious "Heroes of Health Care" award for collaboration given annually by the Washington Health Foundation. ABCD represents a partnership between the local dental society, the local health jurisdiction, the state Medicaid Program and the University of Washington. It was first established in 1995 in Spokane County and was named a "best practice" by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry in 2000.

The ABCD program is one of several innovative programs developed or supported by the Washington Dental Service Foundation to prevent oral disease early in life. Other Foundation programs include Watch Your Mouth, Citizen's Watch for Kids' Oral Health and the SmileMobile. To learn more about the Washington Dental Service Foundation, please visit: www.ddpwa.com/wdsfoundation/wdsfoundation.htm