The Oral Health Program has a vision of providing every Santa Barbara County child with access to quality oral health services to prevent and treat dental disease and advance their overall health and development. Our mission is to improve the oral health of our community's children through the coordination and execution of comprehensive oral health prevention, identification and restorative treatment programs and services.
In 2018, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (SBCPHD) was granted funding to develop a Local Oral Health Program (LOHP) through the California Department of Public Health, Oral Health Program (CDPH/OHP). Funds were granted to Local Health Jurisdictions (LHJ) from Proposition 56, the California Healthcare, Research and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of 2016 (Prop 56) for the purpose and goal of education about oral health, dental disease prevention, and linkage to treatment of dental disease including dental disease caused by the use of cigarettes and other tobacco products. SBCPHD cancelled the program in the summer of 2019 and Santa Barbara County Education Office (SBCEO) was then given the opportunity to apply for the grant, eventually signing a contract with CDPH/OHP in January 2020.
With guidance from the State Oral Health Program, the
