The Access to Baby and Child Dentistry Program (ABCD)is a collaborative approach to increasing access to preventive and restorative care for Medicaid-eligible children, from infancy to age 6 with emphasis on enrollment by age one. It is based upon the premise that starting visits early will prevent early childhood caries and reduce the need for costly future restorative work.

The original ABCD partners drew up a list of agreements and goals for their 5-year pilot program in Spokane County. They agreed that they wanted to:

• Positively affect oral health status of the participating children by ensuring early preventive treatments, thus avoiding more traumatic and costly care in the future.
  
  
• Examine the cost-effectiveness of preventive treatment over restorative care.
  
  
• Place the child's well-being above dental procedures and protocols.
  
  
• Involve the children, parent(s)/guardians(s), advocates and dental providers to create a high level of community satisfaction.
  
  
• Evaluate the effect of an enhanced access/prevention program on low-income children's utilization of dental services.
  
  
• Examine the effects of improved access and enhanced preventive dentistry on the parent's/guardian's beliefs and expectations about children's oral health, satisfaction, and fear. Encouraging positive parental attitudes towards dental care can ensure that children receive timely intervention.
  
  
• Provide critical information regarding early interventions and cost containment to support statewide implementation of the ABCD Program.

See the Outcomes page for the program's success in meeting these goals.