The poor oral health of U.S. school children has reached the crisis stage.
Here’s where we stand:
- Annually, more than 51 million school hours are lost due to poor oral health.
- The most common childhood disease, tooth decay, is five times more common than asthma.
- Just 25% of Medicaid-eligible children get any kind of dental care.
- Nationally, only 20% of practicing dental-care professionals provide care to people with Medicaid.
- Tooth decay affects three out of every five children.
- In the U.S., 16 million children lack access to basic dental care.
School-based dental programs are endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
In late 2016, the CDC published the results of a study about the positive effects of dental sealants on children’s oral health. The CDC also called on states, schools, dental professionals and parents to support school-based dental care as an effective way to get sealants to children.
The full text of the report is available here.