Community Health Workers to Bring Healthy Smiles to Underserved Delta Residents

$185,00 Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation Grant funds oral health education and resources

SHERWOOD, AR—Just as the holidays approach, Delta residents will soon have more reasons to smile. Starting in late November, local community health workers (CHWs) will teach the importance of oral hygiene and good dental habits—insights that can promote healthy smiles and improve the quality of life in a region long associated with poor health outcomes.

A Strategic Initiative Grant of almost $185,000 from the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation is funding oral health education training and program delivery through five CHWs employed by the Tri County Rural Health Network (TCRHN) based in Helena. The CHWs will use their training to educate residents in seven counties—Chicot, Jefferson, Lee, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips and Woodruff—that have been identified as “red zones” or high-risk due to high mortality and poverty rates and poor health statistics. The CHWs will also help residents access much-needed dental care.  

By educating the residents about the link between oral and overall health, fostering trust and facilitating connections between dental providers and patients, the CHWs aim to increase the use of preventive oral health services, especially among pregnant women, young mothers and children.

“Expanding equitable access to and use of oral health services in rural, marginalized parts of Arkansas is one of the Foundation’s key focus areas,” said Sharon Lanier, Ph.D., executive director of the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation. “This project has the potential of achieving transformational change by leveraging the influence of CHWs, who are among the community’s most trusted members. Because CHWs understand the cultural, economic and social barriers to health knowledge and self-sufficiency, they are in an effective position to promote positive behavioral changes. If successful, this project could be scaled to serve other underserved regions in Arkansas, a real game changer for oral health in the state.”

“Reducing distrust and dispelling misinformation are strengths of the CHWs that make their intervention not only innovative but also transformative,” added TCRHN Executive Director Scott Smith.  

The CHWs will be equipped with the training and resources to educate as many as 2,880 at-risk individuals about oral hygiene and the importance of preventive check-ups, with the goal of connecting about half of them to dental care services.

Over one year, the project aims to reduce the number of dental-related emergency room visits while increasing the numbers of new users of oral health services, dental appointments made and kept and residents who say they feel empowered to take charge of their oral health.

About Tri County Rural Health Network

Founded in 2012, the Tri County Rural Health Network provides evidence-based health services and resources to disenfranchised, low-income, disabled and other underserved communities in the state’s Delta region. More information is available by emailing TCRHN@yahoo.com or calling 1-870-338-890.

About Delta Dental of Arkansas

Delta Dental of Arkansas is the largest dental benefits provider in the state, helping more than 500,000 Arkansans keep their smiles healthy through commercial group and individual coverage. As a not-for-profit company, Delta Dental is committed to improving the oral health of Arkansans through the philanthropic efforts of its Foundation, which donated almost $4 million to support oral health treatment and education initiatives in the last three years. More information can be accessed at https://www.deltadentalar.com/.

Media Contact:
Sharon Lanier, Ph.D.
Executive Director
(o) 501-553-3159
slanier@deltadentalar.com
www.deltadentalar.com