USA - Lack of dental care for California adolescents becomes growing epidemic

Lack of dental care for California adolescents becomes growing epidemic
Updated: 7/8/2010 11:00:20 PM
A recent study has found that a lack of dental care specialists in California hast left one in four children 11 years old and younger without dental care. The results, which were published in Health Affairs, showed children most affected were Latino and African American, according to the LA Times.

Regardless if these children have private insurance policies or programs through Medicaid, researchers found they are less likely to visit a dentist on a regular basis, which puts them at a higher risk of developing tooth decay and other dental complications.

In fact, 50 percent of children in the U.S. will develop tooth decay by the third grade, according to the New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Investigators from the California Healthcare Foundation told the news source that "poor oral health has important implications for the healthy development of children," They added that "these findings raise concerns about [the dental insurance company's] ability to address disparities in dental care access and, more broadly, in health care."