USA - New Britain Offers Free Dental Treatment For Kids

New Britain Offers Free Dental Treatment For Kids
By BILL LEUKHARDT | The Hartford Courant
January 7, 2009
NEW BRITAIN — - It sounds too good to be true — a free, painless treatment that helps kids 1 to 18 avoid tooth decay, the most common and preventable chronic childhood disease.But it's for real, and the city health department is offering it.
The treatment is a fluoride varnish, a pleasant-tasting liquid that's painted onto a child's teeth with a soft brush and prevents bacteria from remaining and causing cavities.
The new service began here a few months ago, but few people have taken advantage of it, city officials say.So the local health department is doing its best to get the word out, with letters to pediatricians, fliers and public notices.
"We have enough for hundreds of treatments, but we're just not getting people in," Francine Truglio, public health nursing supervisor, said Tuesday.
The staff will not only provide the free treatment, she said, but will talk with children and parents about the importance of regular dental care.
"We want to help people find a dental home, so they can get regular care," Truglio said. "There's a huge problem with oral health in the state. People don't realize that dental health affects them in so many ways. Tooth decay left untreated causes pain, infection, eating difficulties, tooth loss, sleep disturbances, attention problems and slower social development. Connecticut children miss thousands of hours of school yearly and suffer needlessly from tooth decay."

Nationwide, tooth decay is five times more common than asthma, she said. It affects more than 40 percent of all children by third grade. That number doubles by the end of high school.

The fluoride varnish helps prevent cavities and stop cavities that have already started. Children as young as 1 can get cavities.

In Connecticut, where fluoridation is state-mandated:NYSCOF