January 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Robert Raible, 202/789-5166, [email protected]
Fred Peterson
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Jann Ingmire
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312/440-2806
Study Shows Improving Oral Health for Children; Disparities Remain
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Fewer children have untreated tooth decay in their primary (baby) teeth , according to an analysis of national survey data in the January issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA).
The report, second in a three-part series, is based on data from two National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), conducted periodically by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control.
The analysis shows that among children between the ages of two and 10 years, the number of untreated carious (diseased or decayed) primary teeth decreased by more than 50 percent since the early 1970s.
Although rates of decrease differ among various groups, the trend was reflected in broad segments of the child population (African American and white, male and female, at or below the poverty level and above the poverty level).
"Preventive public health programs like fluoridation have had a major impact," said L. Jackson Brown, D.D.S., Ph.D., associate executive director, American Dental Association's (ADA) Health Policy Resource Center.
He added, "People are seeing the dentist more frequently. I think the population is more educated dentally than it was a generation ago." He said that private dental insurance, very rare 25 years ago, now covers a substantial portion of the nation's children.
While the occurrence of caries in children has dropped steadily over the past quarter century, Dr. Brown notes that economic status remains a key variant.
"Where we didn't see an improvement is disadvantaged children in preschool," he said. "We're not seeing the same rate of decrease there."
There are a couple of things that can be done, Dr. Brown noted. "Medicaid and other programs need to reach out to children and their parents to educate them. And Medicaid needs to be better funded; it needs to get enough dollars to make it feasible for dentists to see these children."
For more information on oral health, visit the ADA's web site at http://www.ada.org.
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