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UK Against Fluoridation

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

USA - In fluoridation-mandated Illinois: NYSCOF

Program to fill children's dental health needs
By COURTNEY KLEMM -- H&R Staff Writer
DECATUR - Underserved and uninsured children in the state soon will have something to smile about.
The Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation, a grant-making organization, will invest at least $20 million over the next five years in targeted efforts to give children increased access to oral health care services.
"We did an analysis and looked at oral health in the state," said Susan Kerr, president of the foundation. "Illinois has made some tremendous progress in the last few years in terms of oral health, and it's a situation where we feel there is a light at the end of the tunnel. When you break the information down and look at general oral health, there are some real opportunities here."
Tooth decay is one of the biggest problems plaguing children. Studies show 55 percent of third-graders in Illinois have some tooth decay and 30 percent have "significant" tooth decay, with the most being from low-income families. Yet only 27 percent of children had dental sealants, so "not a lot of kids are seeing dentists to apply sealants," Kerr said.
The first step for the healthcare foundation's new initiative will be to increase the number of oral health professionals caring for underserved children, increase education and awareness of the role oral health plays in the overall health and well-being of a child and build the capacity of the "safety-net-system" throughout the state to deliver high-quality oral health services, Kerr said.
"Community health centers, health departments and (others) are the primary delivery services for the low-income, underinsured or uninsured children," she said. "We want to do what we can to help those places offer dental services. We want to provide the funding to allow them to expand on services they already provide or to add these services if they've never been offered."
Oral health care often is overlooked where overall health care is concerned, Kerr said."There seems to be a perception that oral health care is separate, that having a healthy mouth is separate than having a healthy body," she said. "We want to integrate those services and make the connection." "We know what it takes to fix this; it's not like a new disease," Kerr added. "It's a question of rallying up the forces and building systems to put in place for kids that don't have access."
Courtney Klemm can be reached at cklemm@herald-review.com or 421-6968.

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