TY - JOUR A1 - Manikyam, Arunadevi A1 - Ravindranath, Nagashree T1 - Overcoming Barriers: Action Report of an Oral Health Outreach Program in a Rural Backdrop Y1 - 2011/7/1 JF - Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry JO - J Indian Assoc Public Health Dent SP - 1 EP - 4 VL - 9 IS - 17 UR - https://journals.lww.com/aphd/pages/default.aspx/article.asp?issn=2319-5932;year=2011;volume=9;issue=17;spage=1;epage=4;aulast=Manikyam N2 - Oral health care of the underserved segments of the population is a subject of great significance to public health dentists. This article focuses on a venture undertaken to serve the deprived in remote villages of West Bengal state of India. The villages; Ichapur, Irpala, Kamarpukur and Arunda have no water supply and no proper roads to connect to nearby towns. There is practically no oral health service available for the residents of these villages. An oral health outreach program was conducted for the first time in the year 2002 in Ichapur with only two dentists providing services for the needy. The program has witnessed growth and is conducted annually reaching out to the underserved segments of the society for the past eight years. This oral health outreach program renders dental care to hundreds of individuals per year who have no access to dental services. It also provides an opportunity to dental students to gain first hand knowledge of barriers to access dental services in rural areas. ER -