USA - Rural areas short on dentists

Cravens is hoping to do his part to fight the problem from the ground up with early education and preventive treatment. He spends two months each year traveling around Southeast Missouri doing check-ups at rural schools. He said there he encounters difficulty from parents as much as children when he visits the schools. On average, only about 40 percent of parents give permission for Cravens to clean their children's teeth.
"We have parents who come in and say, 'My teeth fell out when I was 20, my parents' teeth fell out when they were 20 and so my child's teeth are going to fall out and there's nothing for you to do about it.' Well, no, not necessarily," Cravens said.
Cravens does cleaning, sealant and fluoride treatment on children and says he has seen some progress during his four years of work.
"It used to be when you went in, it seemed like every third kid had rot or decay," Cravens said. "Now it's not so bad."

In 81% fluoridated Missouri: NYSCOF