The Indiana Department of Health's Oral Health Division, in effort to promote, protect and improve for the oral health of all Hoosiers, supports several oral health-related programs throughout Indiana. Programs include:
Indiana Donated Dental Services
Indiana Donated Dental Services is part of a national program, Dental Lifeline Network, which provides dental care to the disabled, elderly or medically at-risk patients. In Indiana, Donated Dental Services provides comprehensive treatment to eligible patients. To be eligible for services, you must lack adequate income to pay for dental care and be permanently disabled, or medically at-risk, or 65 years old or older. Therefore, Indiana provides funds to the program to assist disabled, aged or residents of Indiana unable to afford dental care or to obtain care through public aid, or people with seriously neglected oral health problems who have no other way of obtaining needed care.
Children’s Special Health Care Services
Indiana Children’s Special Health Care Services provides supplemental medical coverage to help families of children who have serious, chronic medical conditions, age birth to 21 years of age, who meet the program’s financial and medical criteria and pay for treatment related to their child’s condition. This program is aimed at keeping families together and helping those children with special healthcare needs thrive.
MCH-MOMS Helpline
The MCH-MOMS Helpline is a statewide comprehensive resource for residents. The aim of the MCH-MOMS Helpline is to address the questions of Indiana residents. Caller’s needs are assessed by trained Communication Specialists, and callers are referred to an appropriate community resource. The Communication Specialists provide information, referrals, consumer education, advocacy and follow-up to individual callers on a variety of topics including early prenatal and child health care; accessing Medicaid and WIC providers; locating emergency housing, food pantries, utility assistance, dental care, transportation; and connecting callers with literacy, vocational and GED programs.
Indiana Water Fluoridation Program
The Indiana Water Fluoridation Program is located within the Division of Environmental Public Health at the Indiana Department of Health. This Division is located in the Public Health Protection and Laboratory Services Commission, while the Oral Health Program is located in the Health and Human Services Commission. However, the Oral Health Program does provide consultation regarding water fluoridation upon request and strongly supports fluoridation of community water systems in Indiana to help prevent dental decay.