Central Great Southern couple Ella Maesepp and David Potter, with sons Zavier and Quade
Communities in the Central Great Southern region have known for years that dental health is a major issue for the smallest residents of their towns.
Communities in the Central Great Southern region have known for years that dental health is a major issue for the smallest residents of their towns.
In that sense, it wasn’t a great surprise when administrative data provided by The Kids Research Institute Australia as part of the Early Years Initiative (EYI) revealed that dental-related hospitalisations for babies and young children in the region were almost double the State average for that age group.
“Dental health in children has been a felt need for a long time, coming through child health nurses, the health service, and teachers picking up that children have dental caries,” said Jo Webb, Co-Chair of the Central Great Southern Working Party formed as part of the EYI.
“We also know that in our area it’s one of the highest causes of hospitalisation in children aged 0–8.”
Mrs Webb said having solid numbers around the problem, however, had helped galvanise efforts to tackle the lack of paediatric dental services available in the Central Great Southern, as well as focus attention on other actions that could help improve children’s dental health and broader health.
The data in the community profiles provided by The Kids Research Institute Australia confirmed what people felt and gave us the impetus to make some change.
“They basically reinforced what many of us already knew about a number of health and social issues, but was not what everybody knew. You often have your own data but when you put it together, one thing becomes much clearer as a priority, even if it’s not your area of knowledge.”
Mrs Webb said having data gave the community hard evidence they could take to government and funders when they identified programs they wanted to implement. Being involved in the EYI also provided opportunities to connect with useful people and organisations.
“The Kids Research Institute Australia and Minderoo have been great facilitators, putting us in touch with the right people who can listen and help us unpack a bit of what we need,” she said.
Among other moves to improve access to dental services and get more information on dental health to families, the Central Great Southern community is working with a Perth-based paediatric dentist, the school dental service, Edith Cowan University, Amity Health, and a private funder.
There are three prongs to it – health promotion, early identification and early treatment,” Mrs Webb said. “There’s no point in doing a lot of health promotion and getting parents to identify dental caries or kids at risk, then having no pathways for them, so we’ve got to do the three in sync together – they’re our three key priorities.
Mrs Webb said that while participating in the EYI had focused attention on early intervention as a way to make life better for children and families, none of it would work without the community coming together to implement change.
“Even if something is evidence based and might have worked somewhere else, it doesn’t mean that if you drop that same program into another community, it’s going to work,” she said.
“You have to let local communities drive what they want, even if it’s slightly different to what you think they need. The community has got to want it and then it does tend to work, because they own it.”