USA - Public health problem: Lack of children receiving dental care

Public health problem: Lack of children receiving dental care
By Jill Coley (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Sunday, November 9, 2008
A fifth-grader went to the St. Andrew's Middle School clinic with what he thought was an erupting tooth in the back of his mouth. But the spot didn't look right to school nurse Robert Naugle.
Naugle called a Johns Island dentist, who urged the student to come in at once. The boy was diagnosed with cancer and successfully treated.
"It was one of the most profound experiences I had in five years as a school nurse," Naugle said.
In addition to the routine dental complaints of young children - teeth falling out and coming in - school nurses face abscesses, cavities and dental emergencies. Children are going without dental care and dental insurance, according to two studies, leaving schools and public health outreaches as a safety net.
More than 47 percent of U.S. children age 5 and younger have not seen a dentist in the previous year, according to a recent report by researchers at the S.C. Rural Health Research Center at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends children see a dentist when their first tooth appears or within their first year of life, with check-ups every six months.
The report was based on a 2003 survey that used parents' reports to measure the health of children from birth to age 17. Amy Brock Martin, lead author and deputy director for the research center, said they mined data by race and levels of rurality.

South Carolina is 91% fluoridated:NYSCOF