USA - Bill would require dental checkupsKentucky.com

Bill would require dental checkupsKentucky.com
January 28, 2008
Original Kentucky.com article: Bill would require dental checkups Read all 4 comments » Wendy Humphrey has seen 2-year-olds with 20 teeth and 20 cavities. She's seen 5-year-olds with cavities so far gone, the tooth -- sometimes multiple teeth -- had to be removed.
The tragedy, says Humphrey, director of the dental clinic at the Family Care Center in Lexington, is that the problems are preventable: The children and their parents need to learn about good oral health.
Proponents say that a bill before the House Health and Welfare Committee would be a first step toward that education. House Bill 186 would require all children entering public school to have their teeth checked.
'By getting this check-up they can actually get in the mold of going to the dentist on a regular basis,' said Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, the bill's sponsor.
It could also improve school attendance rates.
'Dental disease, dental pain is one of the number one reasons kids are missing school,' said Mike Porter, executive director of the Kentucky Dental Association, which is lobbying on behalf of the bill.
Kentucky has some of the worst oral health in the nation. The state ranks number two in the nation for toothlessness among adults, and number one in toothlessness among adults of working age.
The teeth of Kentucky's children are not much healthier. Approximately 42 percent of kids ages 2 to 4 have active cavities. At any given point, some 4,500 3-year-olds, or 8 percent of the population, have a tooth ache, said Julie McKee, the state dental director.
And the health of their teeth affects children's ability to learn.
'The healthier their mouths, the readier they are to learn all there is to learn,' McKee said.
But Wayne Young, executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators, says the bill could have the unintended effect of preventing kids from going to school.
The children who aren't already accessing dental services are typically poor, Young said. Schools already have difficulty getting those kids immunized, another requirement for enrollment.
'These are children who don't get a lot of services to begin with,' Young said. 'They don't go to the dentist. They don't go to the doctors. They go to the emergency room every once in a while.'
In addition, it can be hard for children with Medicaid or the Kentucky Children's Health Insurance Program to find a dentist.
Only about 25 percent of practicing dentists regularly accept Medicaid or KCHIP patients, according to McKee. The state recently increased reimbursement rates for dentists, which may improve the situation.
At Family Care Center, which only sees children with Medicaid or KCHIP, it takes 4 to 8 weeks to get an appointment. Such delays may help explain why less than half of eligible children use dental services.
In 2006, Medicaid spent $40.5 million on dental services, reaching 39 percent of the children enrolled in the program, according to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. KCHIP spent $7.7 million, reaching 47 percent of those enrolled in the program.
Porter, executive director of the state dental association, predicts that dentists would see more Medicaid and KCHIP patients if a bill was passed.
Burch, the bill's sponsor, says the check-up could be done in schools or by dental technicians, making it easier for parents.
It is unclear how much support the bill has. Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear is still reviewing the legislation and declined to comment, through a spokesperson. Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, did not respond to phone calls about the bill.
Burch expects the bill to go before the House Health and Welfare Committee, which he chairs, in early February.
If the measure becomes law, proponents hope more children will follow the example of five-year-old Alexus Wilkinson. She had a check-up a few months ago that found several cavities. Now she's getting them treated.
On Friday, Alexus giggled in the dental chair at the Family Care Center. Bright green sunglasses covered the girl's eyes and a white device, which delivered laughing gas, covered her nose.
'We've got to put your teeth to sleep,' Dentist Dustin Hall told her as he prepared to crown two teeth.
'You might even hear them snoring,' said Santiana Turner, a dental hygienist, as Alexus giggled again.

Fluoridation is state-mandated in Kentucky - 99.6% are fluoridated:NYSCOF