Tooth decay continues to rank as one of the most prevalent chronic childhood diseases, especially in the state of Kentucky.  The Institute for Rural Health at Western Kentucky University completed a cross-sectional study in 2013, focusing on two main objectives in the bluegrass state: to assess socio-demographic differences between children affected and unaffected by decay, and to investigate the factors associated with the lack of treatment of this chronic condition. The Institute for Rural Health used mobile [...]

The Kentucky Oral Health Coalition (KOHC) is proud to announce a new opportunity for communities interested in improving oral health among children and families. The Kentucky Oral Health Coalition is partnering with the UCLA Health Care Institute (HCI) and the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood to offer Community Early Childhood Councils (CECC) mini-grants up to $1,000 to conduct oral health trainings to parents in their communities using an researched curriculum and protocol. The UCLA Health [...]

With Halloween right around the corner, kids are picking out their favorite costumes, porches are decorated with jack-o-lanterns, and grocery stores are lined with sweet treats to celebrate. But, let’s not forget about the damage too much candy can have on our teeth. Halloween presents a great opportunity to remind your family about the importance of keeping up good oral hygiene, especially to prevent cavities. Walgreens has five tips to keep good oral health during this Halloween [...]

This post originally appeared as a Kentucky Youth Advocates blog post written by Health Policy Director, Stephen Lin. You can view it online here. Data transparency is one of the current hot topics in Kentucky health, and while this sounds like an abstract or even confusing term, data transparency actually means laying out the facts so that everyone can understand them. It refers to the openness of health departments, service providers, managed care organizations, and others [...]

This post originally appeared as an Op-Ed in The Courier Journal and Kentucky Youth Advocates Blog. You can view it online here.  Written by Kentucky Youth Advocates, Executive Director Dr. Terry Brooks As the November election nears, effective, bipartisan action in Congress can sometimes feel like a lofty and unattainable ideal. Political ads remind us several times a day of the divide amongst political parties. Yet, we have a strong example of a bipartisan policy that [...]

According to the Governor’s Ky Health Now Initiative, Kentucky ranks 45th in the percentage of children with untreated dental decay (34.6%). The Pew Center on States gave Kentucky a “C” grade in providing oral health care to children in their latest report. Yet, it’s difficult to truly know where Kentucky stands on children’s oral health since the state has not systematically collected data on children’s oral health in over a decade. In 2008, Kentucky passed a [...]

The Kentucky Oral Health Coalition was recently featured in the July/August 2014 issue of Kentucky Dental Association’s (KDA) magazine, KDA Today.  The article, written by KOHC’s own Lacey McNary, focused on the increasing awareness of Kentucky’s oral health needs and the growing energy of stakeholders across the Commonwealth. Governor Steve Beshear’s KyHealthNow goals for improving oral health for Kentuckians and the priorities of KDA and KOHC align, specifically improving oral health awareness, expanding school based oral health [...]

The Kentucky Oral Health Coalition (KOHC) is proud to announce a new opportunity for communities interested in improving oral health among children and families. The Kentucky Oral Health Coalition is partnering with the UCLA Health Care Institute (HCI) and the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood to offer Community Early Childhood Councils (CECC) mini-grants up to $1,000 to conduct oral health trainings to parents in their communities using an approved curriculum and protocol. The UCLA Health [...]

Last week two major grant announcements were made to promote oral health in Kentucky. This is an exciting time as momentum continues to move in positive and forward direction. Below you will find the announcement from the Governor's office and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). We applaud the Governor, Dr. McKee, and the members of the General Assembly for making oral health a priority as well as ARC and U.S. Representative Hal Rogers. Gov. Beshear announces funding [...]