Tooth Decay an “epidemic” among children

Children who learn the importance of dental care early in life generally go on to have healthier mouths. However, many children whose families lack dental insurance can have limited access to the care they need to maintain a healthy smile.

Many of these children develop tooth decay which, when left untreated, can lead to painful and occasionally life-threatening infections.

Dr Jared Fine, the dental health administrator for the Alameda, California County Public Health Department, told the New York Times that the problem has gotten out of hand, and that public health organizations need to do more to ensure that children with dental problems can visit a dentist.

“We have an epidemic of dental disease in children that’s absurdly pervasive,” he told the news source. “We can only go up from here.”

According to recent figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 20 percent of children between the ages of two and five have untreated tooth infections.

There are many discount dental plans that can help those without insurance access at dentist at little out of pocket expense.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 16th, 2010 at 12:41 pm and is filed under Oral Health Topics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.