Dental Screening and Prevention Services
Refugee Clinic
Services are conducted by Public Health Nurses and include comprehensive health screening for newly arrived immigrants and refugees of all ages. Oral health education, screening and assessments are offered as part of the overall screening and are conducted by a Public Health Registered Dental Hygienist.
Community Sealant Programs
Dental Sealants are thin plastic coatings that are applied to pits and fissures (grooves) on chewing surfaces of permanent molars to protect teeth from dental decay. About 90% of tooth decay in children's permanent teeth occurs in these pits and fissures.
Dental Sealants are effective both in preventing tooth decay and in stopping the progression of tooth decay.
- Seal Dane is a school-based dental sealant program designed to provide free dental sealants to targeted elementary students in Madison and Dane County schools. This preventive program is held in various schools throughout the school year. Children, who participate in the free or reduced lunch program, may be eligible for this sealant program. Information regarding these programs is sent home with children from participating schools.
Contact Loree Pierce RDH, Seal Dane Coordinator at (608) 242-6414 or lpierce@publichealthmdc.com or contact Maureen Oostdik RDH, BA, Dental Health Coordinator at (608) 243-0396 or moostdik
@publichealthmdc.com for more information.
- Halloween Sealant Day is a one-day event on the last Friday of October coinciding with Wisconsin State Teacher's Convention when students have no school. This program offers free dental sealants to children whose families do not have dental insurance and who find it financially difficult to provide dental care for their children. Sealant services are provided through collaboration with Madison Area Technical College Dental Hygiene Program.
Contact Maureen Oostdik RDH, BA, Dental Health Coordinator at (608) 243-0396 or moostdik
@publichealthmdc.com for more information.
Fluoride Supplement Program
Public Health - Madison & Dane County, in cooperation with the Dane County Dental Society, offers supplemental fluoride to Dane County children ages 6 months to 14 years in areas where there is no fluoride in the drinking water. Although most Dane County cities and villages add fluoride to their water supplies, families that have their own private wells may have very little fluoride in their water.
Most bottled water does not contain fluoride. Check the label on the bottle to see if fluoride is contained in the water.
The combination of fluoride and dental sealants can help strengthen teeth and protect them from decay. 
