Dental Screening

Iowa law requires that all students entering kindergarten and 9th grade have a dental screening.  The purpose of the dental screening requirement is to improve the oral health of Iowa's children. Dental screenings help with early detection and treatment of dental disease; promote the importance of oral health for school readiness and learning; and contribute to statewide surveillance of oral health.  

• Kindergarteners must have had a dental screen sometime between the ages of 3 and 6 years, and must be completed by spring of their kindergarten year. The screening must be completed by a dentist, dental hygienist, physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or a nurse trained in doing oral screenings.  

• 9th graders must have had the dental screen done by a dentist or dental hygienist, and done sometime between the beginning of 8th grade and spring of their 9th grade year. 

• The health professional doing the dental screen must complete the dental certificate of dental screening. Please return the completed certificate to your child's school office. 

• If families do not have dental insurance coverage or cannot pay for dental care, parents should contact Johnson County Public Health I-Smiles Coordinator at 319-356-6045

Dental Screening Certificate