Dental Health in Sonoma County
Did you know that dental disease is California's most common health problem for children and can lead to serious illness in children and adults alike?
Published on July 1, 2019
An inter-professional conference on September 20, 2019, to incorporate oral health best practices to address social determinants of health.
Published on June 3, 2019
Make dental FUNdamental with tips and resources from the Sonoma County Department of Health Services. The new site offers key resources to find dental care and tips for brushing and healthy snacking. Start a new routine and teach your children how to take care of their teeth with these simple ideas!
Published on July 19, 2018
An inter-professional conference on September 28, 2018, to share case studies and technical knowledge for integrating services and preventing dental disease in population health.
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Life is Better with Teeth!
A healthy mouth, teeth and gums - is absolutely essential to overall health. Poor dental health can threaten the health of young children and affect your health.
Untreated, it can have devastating effects on your child's social functioning, self-esteem, productivity and the overall quality of life of young and old alike.
Poor dental health is directly linked to diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Untreated dental problems during pregnancy can contribute to even more serious problems.
Young or old, good dental health means improved health.
Life is simply better with teeth!
Kindergarten Dental Assessment Pilot Program Report
A pilot project to provide dental health assessments and preventive treatments to kindergartners while at school has shown promising results as an effective model of community-based health care.
But the findings of the dental health professionals and researchers who provided oral exams at Santa Rosa City and Wright school district schools earlier in 2017 also turned up more evidence of extensive tooth decay and dental disease among children in Sonoma County.
In the pilot project, funded by a $20,000 mini grant from Kaiser Permanente, the Department of Health Services partnered with Santa Rosa City and Wright school districts, and with local dental health professional volunteers, to screen 361 students and provide preventative fluoride varnish treatments to 142 children from consenting households.
Download the report
Dental Health Network Strategic Plan
The Dental Health Network Strategic Plan 2017-2020 defines our vision, values, and priorities and outlines our overall strategy to achieve our primary goal of 75% Cavity-Free 5-year-olds by the year 2020 in Sonoma County.
This strategic plan marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Dental Health Network. It outlines a clear direction that will leverage the significant expertise and capacity of our community partners to address dental health in Sonoma County.
Download the strategic plan
Sonoma County Smile Survey
Sonoma County is fortunate to have periodic oral health surveys to improve strategies and see impacts for local elementary students. See below for the last two Sonoma County Smile Surveys.