These free events kick off  National Children's Dental Health Month in February!

Families can take their children for free dental screenings and preventive care  ~  to get familiar with their local dental clinic and staff, while enjoying fun games and gifts for the kids and families! 
Flyers for the event are available for download in English, Spanish, and Chinese. ​

Share this information widely with your patients, clients and community members.  

The enrollment for Dental Access Collaborative for 2019 is now open.  Deadline for registration is January 9, 2019.  Enroll here.

The Collaborative will teach dental clinics how to administer efficient clinic systems and provide quality preventive services to Denti-Cal beneficiaries in a sustainable manner. It will provide dental clinics with opportunities to learn and practice the skills they need to integrate continuous quality improvement into their ongoing and daily work. 

Participating dental clinics are expected to:

1. Form an Improvement team with other individuals from your clinic
2. Attend three in-person Learning Session trainings (two days each) with your Improvement team and participate in monthly one-hour webinar calls
3. Comply with all data collection and reporting aspects of the Collaborative
4. Currently see children 0-5, OR be willing to learn how through the support of the Collaborative.

Participating dental clinics will receive:

1. A stipend of $1,000 per day for up to six days (not to exceed $6,000) for your Improvement team to attend the three in-person Learning Sessions (two days each). This is intended to help offset the costs of staff time out of your clinic.
2. The offering of CDE credits for attending in-person Learning Sessions.
3. The opportunity to be mentored by a pediatric dentist who will support you in caring for patients 0-5 years old. 

  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].

2018 National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA) Annual Conference
Sunday, November 11, 2018 –Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Sheraton New Orleans Hotel
500 Canal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
 
A 4-day conference held by the National Network for Oral Health Access focused on professional development with clinical, practice management and hands-on learning sessions.
 
Click here for more information and to register.

Medi-Cal Dental Programs is launching a statewide awareness and utilization campaign, titled "Smile, California".  Learn more at a live webinar on September 26, 2018, at 1pm.  See details below!

SAVE THE DATE! 
 
Please join us on Wednesday, September 26 at 1p.m. as we present a live webinar about the Smile, California campaign, the new statewide awareness and utilization campaign aimed at helping Medi-Cal members make the most of their dental benefit.
 
The campaign, which will launch next month, aims to send one simple reassuring message to the more than 13 million Californians covered by Medi-Cal: Smile, California, Medi-Cal Has Dental Covered.

The one-hour webinar will provide a step-by-step demonstration of SmileCalifornia.org and details on how to participate in the upcoming campaign launch. It is our hope you will embrace this campaign and brand as part of your service to Medi-Cal members.
 
Dial-in number (US): (855) 212-0212
Access code: 408-412-727#
International dial-in numbers: https://stme.in/i/rse19
Online meeting ID: rse19
Join the online meeting: https://join.startmeeting.com/rse19

 Smile On!
The Smile California Team

SFDPH is seeking input from populations most impacted by sugary drinks in order to develop a grant process. SFDPH started by convening focus groups to learn from the community what their needs, capacity and desires related to healthy eating and active living.  As a next course of action, SFDPH is hosting 5 town halls in September to:

1. reflect on the input from those community focus groups; and 
2. gather more input to inform the development of the Request For Proposals for the sugary drinks tax.

Here is a complete listing of all the Town Halls:

1. Bayview Hunters Point – Tuesday, September 11, 2018. 6pm – 8pm; Southeast Facilities Commission, 1800 Oakdale Ave
   
2. Mission – TBD
   
3. OMI – Monday, September 17, 2018. 6pm – 8pm; Minnie & Lovie Ward Rec Center, 650 Capitol Ave.
4. Tenderloin – Wednesday, September 19, 2018, 5:30-7:30pm, SF Main Library – Latino Room, 100 Larkin St
   
5. Western Addition – Thursday, September 20, 2018; 6pm – 8pm; Hamilton Recreation Center, Multipurpose room 1, 1900 Geary Blvd
   

Visit www.shapeupsfcoalition.org/input for more details and help spread the word! Food and drinks will be provided and interpretation services and childcare are available upon request.  Flyers are available in English, Spanish and Chinese. 

May 16, Wednesday, is Rethink Your Drink Day, a statewide Day of Action in California to raise awareness about the health effects of sugary drinks and promote the benefits of drinking water. 
Reducing sugary drinks consumption and promoting the drinking of tap water are key oral health messages. 
The Feeling Good Project is hosting a free event at Heart of the City Farmers' Market on May 16, Wednesday, 10am-1pm.  Come join the fun if you are in the neighborhood!

The San Francisco Dental Transformation Initiative Local Dental Pilot Project is proud to be the co-host of the 4th Annual Children’s Oral Health Leadership forum that took place last Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at St Mary’s Cathedral's St Francis Hall. 

The event was hosted by CavityFree SF Coalition, SFDPH, and UCSF.  Other co-hosts of the event included: SF Health Network, Our Children Our Families Council, and SF Unified School District (SFUSD).
Dr. Edward Chow, President of the San Francisco Health Commission opened the event and Hydra Mendoza-McDonnell, Deputy Chief of Staff for Education and Equity to Mayor Mark Farrell and President of the San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education was keynote speaker at the event. 

This forum was an opportunity for SF community leaders to learn about the successes and opportunities for improving dental care for better overall health and a healthier SF.  We shared San Francisco children’s oral health status updates, and discussed policy and system changes, and cross sector collaborations impacting children’s oral health locally, state and nation-wide.   

Oral health advocates represented by California Department of Public Health, SF DTI LDPP, NICOS Chinese Health Coalition, Our Children Our Families Council, San Francisco Dental Society, San Francisco State University, San Francisco Unified School District, and UCSF spoke on the panels of the event. 
The event ended with an appreciation for Cathi Fuller, long-time oral health champion and school nurse at the San Francisco Unified School District School Health Programs. 
​
SF DTI LDPP sincerely thanks all of the community stakeholders and participants for attending the forum and for their continued dedication in improving children’s oral health in San Francisco.