Vermont Department of Health - Oral Health and 5 more... less...

Vermont Department of Health - AHS Goal 4

Vermont Department of Health

OLH SHIP-related activities

WIC

% pregnant women using WIC seen by Vermont Department of Health public health dental hygienists

Current Value

33%

Q4 2023

Definition

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Story Behind the Curve

Last Updated: March 14, 2023

Author: Office of Oral Health, Vermont Department of Health

Two of Vermont’s 12 Offices of Local Health (Burlington and Newport) employ Public Health Dental Hygienists (PHDH). PHDHs help to create a local environment that supports early preventive oral health care for families enrolled in the WIC program. Oral Health during pregnancy is important for both the pregnant person and the baby. This measure shows the percentage of pregnant people using WIC who were ween by a PHDH. In Quarter 4, 2022 19% of pregnant people saw public health dental hygienists during their WIC visit. Aside from a dip in quarter three of 2021 this percentage has remained relatively stable throughout 2021 and 2022. Due to the fact that there are only two PHDHs, if one of them is not providing services for any reason (e.g., extended leave of absence), it can greatly affect the percentage for that quarter.

Please note: There were no services provided in Q2-Q4 of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so no data is provided for those dates. Also, the PHDH program decreased in size from 2019-2020, so drastic changes in percentages during that time are likely reflective of that change.

Partners

What Works

There are several strategies that help increase the percentage of pregnant people who are seen by a PHDH, they include:

Support from WIC staff who understand the importance of oral health during pregnancy and refer high risk prenatal clients to PHDHs.
Ongoing supervision, training, and support for PHDHs on topics such as motivational interviewing, care coordination, and cultural competency.
Education for health care providers and other community organizations about the importance of oral health during pregnancy so that they can counsel patients about it. People who understand the importance of good oral health during pregnancy might be more open to meeting with a PHDH.

Action Plan

Public Health Dental Hygienists (PHDH) in Newport and Burlington will continue to work with WIC staff to identify opportunities to increase the percentage of pregnant people enrolled in the WIC program that are seen by a PHDH.

Notes on Methodology

Prior to 2016, this percentage was measured as the number of pregnant women the PHDH saw as a percentage of all pregnant women who visited the WIC clinic that quarter. Beginning in 2016, this percentage was measured as the number of pregnant women the PHDH saw as a percentage of all pregnant women enrolled in WIC that quarter.

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