Grantee Name
New York University-College of Dentistry
Funding Area
Special Projects Fund
Publication Date
January 2016
Grant Amount
$75,000
Grant Date:
July 2013 – December 2014
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The New York State Department of Health has documented severe disparities in children’s oral health status and access to oral health services in Poughkeepsie, a city located in Dutchess County.
Widespread poverty, unemployment, environmental challenges, a shortage of Medicaid-accepting dentists, and socioeconomic disparities are factors that have exacerbated the lack of access to dental care for the residents of Poughkeepsie. With previous funding from NYHealth, the New York University College of Dentistry (NYUCD) successfully implemented a financially sustainable oral health intervention program for children in the city of Hudson, located 40 miles north of Poughkeepsie. In 2013, NYHealth awarded a second grant to NYUCD to replicate this school-based dental health center intervention program in Poughkeepsie.
Under this grant, NYUCD set out to conduct a study to assess the oral health needs and access to oral health services of Early Head Start and Head Start enrollees, a national program to promote the school readiness of young children from low-income families. These findings would help inform its strategy to implement a school-based dental health program in Poughkeepsie and develop a sustainable strategy to ensure the program’s continuation after the grant period ends.