State getting nearly $1.9 million for dental programs

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A nearly $1.9 million federal grant is going to help New Hampshire elementary school-based dental programs and provide education on fluoridation and better monitoring of women’s dental health during pregnancy.

The state Department of Health and Human Services announced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant on Monday.

The department says through school-based dental programs from 2001 to 2014, the percentage of third-graders in the state with sealants increased 15 percent, and those with untreated dental decay decreased 14 percent.

The grant will provide a survey of third graders’ oral health and provide services to more students in elementary and middle school-based programs that have a higher percentage of untreated decay.