The Indiana University School of Dentistry received a $2 million grant to increase access to dental services for children living in rural communities in Indiana. The five-year grant is funded through the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.

The IU School of Dentistry is also contributing an additional $888,000.

Out of 92 counties in Indiana, 63 (about 68%), are designated as shortage areas for dentists, said E. Angeles Martinez Mier, the grant’s principal investigator and project director. The federal benchmark for a dental Health Professional Shortage Area is 5,000 to one, population to provider.

Three counties in the state don’t have a single dentist, Mier said.

Shortages like this can cause barriers for people to receive care, including travel time, affordability and whether the dentist takes Medicare or Medicaid.

This grant will bring dental services to medical clinics where children will already be going for other health appointments. Children will be able to receive initial examinations and preventative dentistry care from dental hygienists placed at the clinics, Mier said.

“That way, we are bringing the dental services where the children are, more than expecting the parents to have to arrange one more visit and helping them bridge some of those barriers to care,” Mier said.

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After an initial examination, if further services are need, the child’s family will be referred to the nearest dental office with the equipment needed.

IU School of Dentistry students will be involved in this grant. Third year students will help with screenings and preventative services. Fourth year students will participate in a community-based dental rotation the school already offers, but the grant makes it focused on rural areas.

Part of the grant’s importance is that the best predicator of future cavities is past cavities. This is why it’s important for children to receive oral health care early in life, to prevent cavities in the first place, she said.

“The ultimate goal of the grant is that any children who need dental services in the areas where we're going will get it, and they will have what we call a dental home, and they will have no pain, no dental disease, if we do our job well.” Mier said.

Receiving dental care also gives an opportunity to educate children and parents on oral healthcare, Mier said.

She said the focus is on partnering initially with community clinics and Federal Qualified Health Centers. Partnership criteria include clinics or private practices that take people on Medicaid or Medicare.

The grant will not cover cost of service for initial examinations and for referred services. Services will be billed to insurance.

The IU School of Dentistry is still in the first year of the grant, the planning phase. By year two, the program is planned to be fully operational.

“Each year, our goals for the grant include increasing the number of clinics and increasing the number of students that we're sending out,” Mier said. “Years three and four will be continuous quality control.”

Year five of the grant will consist of making the program when the original grant money runs out.