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For the past six years, 78 dental students have worked with 25 rural dentists to provide over 31,000 dental health services to migrant patients for all of Colorado's agricultural communities. In 1977, each of 19 dental students averaged over $538 per week in value of comprehensive dental services, including preventive and peridontal services (36 per cent, N=3,006); restorative services (46 per cent, N = 3,904); surgical services (8 per cent, N = 705); services in pulp therapy (5 per cent, N = 413); and an additional 5 per cent (N = 412) in miscellaneous services. A unique combination of federal resources from the Departments of Labor, and of Health, Education and Welfare, were combined through the Colorado State Health Department and the University of Colorado Medical Censtrated by: 1) a relatively low extraction to restoration ratio (1 to 5) when compared to reported studies (1 to 2); 2) a relatively low extract to root canal therapy (10 to 1) when compared to reported studies (400 to 1); 3) no statistical difference between students and rural practitioners in the quality of services as determined by peer review study. This dental program is an integrated component of a comprehensive program combining student and professional services in medicine, nursing, nutrition, and health education.

Since the migrant farmworker family is a marginal issue among competing priorities for public health services, the logical strategy ought to be the pooling of limited resources at the state and local level to provide maximum benefit for the dollar and the client. A program planning model in inter-agency migrant health services delivery has been developed in Colorado. The model includes tangible evidence of cooperation by front-line service agencies. A task force approach for joint agency programming was initiated at state and local levels, and a structure for accountability was established which was carried out with performance contracts.

A 1984 study of dental disease in 534 children (aged 6-15) of migrant farm workers in Colorado found that the prevalence of disease for this population continues to exceed the national and regional average. The mean DMFS was 3.56 with only 23 per cent caries free compared to a regional non-migrant DMFS mean of 2.50 with 44.7 per cent caries free. Results indicate that the children of migrant farm workers should remain a priority in preventive and restorative dental care programs.