title: Head Start Oral Health Assessment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A Head Start program located in Paterson, New Jersey considered establishing a school-based dental clinic to address unmet oral health needs such as access to care and the need for restorative treatment. The purpose of this study was to establish the oral health status of Head Start children, their treatment needs, and parents' interest and willingness to utilize a school-based dental clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  School-based dental care has been used to address access to care issues, particularly among children who live in underserved areas. A 21 item survey was used to correlate the results of an oral exam performed on the Head Start children and the parents' preferences, beliefs and access patterns. Fisher's exact test and Chi squared test were used to study the association among variable with significance levels set at 0.05. Assessment The oral exam revealed a high caries rate amongst all of the children. Parental responses indicated strong support for the establishment of a school-based clinic and identified the need for further parental education. Having a regular source of care was found to be unrelated to treatment needs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Further education of the parents regarding the child's oral health is critical to the success and viability of this school-based clinic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontics, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, 110 Bergen Street, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA. reedre@sdm.rutgers.edu.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reed
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, 110 Bergen Street, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA.
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: York
authors.affiliation: Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, 230 W. 125th Street, 3rd Floor Dean's Suite, New York, NY, 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Nadege
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dady
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, 110 Bergen Street, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chaviano-Moran
authors.affiliation: Department of Institutional Assessment and Quality Improvement, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, 110 Bergen Street, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA.
authors.forename: Shuying
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, 110 Bergen Street, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Holtzman
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D004245:DMF Index; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018479:Early Intervention, Educational / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005250:Fees, Dental; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D009515:New Jersey / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014098:Toothache / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Head Start; Health literacy; Oral health; School-based clinic