Improving oral health for underserved populations: Graduate nursing student education

Effective oral health assessment and care is crucial to maintain health and hygiene, especially in children. The overall oral health of children can be improved by incorporating oral health education, comprehensive oral assessment, and skill of fluoride varnish application into the curriculum of graduate nursing students. This project encompasses education of graduate nursing students on the importance of oral health care and skill sets necessary to incorporate this information into the clinical setting. Participants of this project include family nurse practitioner (FNP) students as well as children in Belize and Superior, Wisconsin Head Starts who received oral health education, comprehensive oral assessment, and application of fluoride varnish. FNP students who participated in the oral health learning module retained information as evidenced by the increase in scores from pretest to posttest and skill demonstration. Children who participated in the project retained oral health education information as evidenced by an increase in scores from presurvey to postsurvey, with results obtained through group hand raising. In order for this project to remain sustainable, there will be ongoing education of graduate nursing students as well as a continued relationship between The College of St. Scholastica and local Head Starts for clinical opportunity. In addition, to promote oral health in the pediatric population internationally, the information presented in the oral health learning module will be incorporated into an international service learning elective course for graduate nursing students at The College of St. Scholastica.