Preventive Dental Care

Indicator Definition
Children (ages 1 – 17 years) reported by parents to have received all needed preventive dental care during the past 12 months.

Children receiving all routine preventive dental care in last 12 months by income in Colorado5

Indicator Significance 
Tooth decay is the leading chronic infectious disease affecting children. By the time they’re 11, an estimated 50 percent of all children will have experienced tooth decay, and by the age of 19, 68 percent will have decay in their permanent teeth. Low-income children are twice as likely to suffer from untreated tooth decay, often resulting in chronic pain, underweight and poor appearance. These problems often interfere with a child’s ability to succeed in school. Data shows that on average 51 million school hours a year are lost to dental-related illnesses in the United States.

The American Dental Association suggests cleaning a baby’s mouth the first few days after birth and to begin taking a child for an oral exam between the ages of one and two years.¹ A regular diet of nutritious foods low in sugar is highly effective in preventing tooth decay.

Colorado Specifics 
In Colorado, oral disease is five times more common than asthma. Colorado ranks in the bottom tier of states (38 out of 50) for children reported to have received all preventive dental care needed in the past 12 months. Disparities exist for children living at various income levels. Only half of children living in households below the poverty level received preventive dental care in Colorado in 2003, while over 80 percent of children living in higher income households received such care.²

Promising Initiatives
In Colorado
Cavity Free at Three is a collaborative effort of The Colorado Health Foundation, Caring for Colorado Foundation, Delta Dental Foundation and Rose Community Foundation. This project is designed to strengthen the safety net’s capacity to provide preventive services to high-risk, high-need pregnant women and their babies, up to age 3. The goal: to change oral health delivery systems so that dental disease can be completely prevented in young children in Colorado.

Caring for Colorado began a five-year plan in 2002 dedicating $5 million to promote oral health in Colorado. A primary target of the Oral Health Improvement Program is low-income children. Through collaborations between oral health and primary health care providers, the program seeks to increase preventive education and oral health services to both children and new mothers who encounter various barriers to obtaining needed care.³

Elsewhere
Minnesota established a Statewide Oral Health Action Plan in 2003 to implement innovative approaches to promoting better oral health care among the state’s children. Available in three languages, "The Tooth Book" was published to educate families on early dental care. It is being distributed to parents of high-risk children through home visits. These home visits have become an important component of the state’s initiative. The University of Minnesota and Marquette University School of Dentistry are providing training in teaching age-appropriate care and early identification of risk factors.⁴ 

Children receiving all routine preventive dental care in last 12 months⁶

Text

1. “Children’s Oral Health,” National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
2. Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. “Smart Mouths, Healthy Bodies: An Action Plan to Improve the Oral Health of Coloradans”; Fall 2005.
3. Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. “Smart Mouths, Healthy Bodies: An Action Plan to Improve the Oral Health of Coloradans”; Fall 2005.
   
4. Minnesota Head Start Association.
   

Charts

5. Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Survey of Children’s Health, 2003, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
   
6. Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Survey of Children’s Health, 2003, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.