1602-11914

National: Support to the Foundation for Children to continue to serve as the convenor of the From the First Tooth Collaborative. Specifically, the Foundation for Children will carry forward the new strategies that have emerged as critical to "closing the deal" and sustain the progress the Collaborative has made in the six New England states (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont). The strategies the Collaborative will pursue include continuing recruitment and training of primary care providers in the delivery of oral health prevention and education to children in primary practice settings; creating a system for evaluating the effectiveness of primary care practices providing fluoride varnish, documenting which children are being missed, and supporting practices in their quality improvement efforts; partnering with policy makers and advocacy organizations to support state policy changes and clarifications to make it easier for primary practice settings to adopt oral health services; supporting initiatives that bring medical and dental professionals together to coordinate the physical and oral health care of children; and increasing consumer demand for physician oral health services by engaging community-based organizations, oral health coalitions, and other stakeholders. In addition, the Collaborative will continue its work in building oral health into medical training programs by making educational curricula more inter-professional so that the learning reflects what will be the standard of care in the office setting. This proposal aligns with the Oral Health 2020 goal of eradicating dental disease in children and the target that 85% of children reach age five without a cavity. It will impact the drivers of family and care provider engagement, early risk/protective assessment, and access to optimal levels of fluoride. $121,734 will be used to support staff time, training materials, and travel associated with implementing this project.