USA - Toothaches rife among poor youths

Toothaches rife among poor youths
Untreated dental decay in kids is seen as widespread in SLO County

By Sarah Arnquist
TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO BY JAYSON MELLOMDental student Celeste Eckerman works on Ada Sanchez, 10, at a mobile clinic at Bauer-Speck Elementary in Paso Robles last year.Too many children in San Luis Obispo County suffer from untreated toothaches and have little or no access to dental care, experts said Friday at the county’s Oral Health Summit.
The event drew more than 150 people to discuss the current dental situation and efforts to improve children’s oral health in the county.
“We are in a dire situation,” said Katcho Achadjian, county supervisor and First 5 San Luis Obispo County commissioner. First 5 commissioners distribute tobacco tax funds to local programs that benefit children 5 and younger.
Local and state experts quoted a litany of statistics Friday that show children in San Luis Obispo County and elsewhere in California are suffering from untreated dental decay. Overwhelmingly, they emphasized, poor children suf fer most from dental disease, which can cause chronic pain and affect their ability to concentrate and thrive.
A 2005 survey of about 850 Paso Robles children found 25 percent of kindergartners and 20 percent of thirdgraders had untreated tooth decay, said Kathy Phipps, a dental epidemiologist who lives in Morro Bay.
The statistics show that Paso Robles children are slightly better off than children statewide, but California is second to last in the nation in children’s oral health status.
“That’s just not acceptable in a society that is (as) advanced and wealthy as our society is,” Phipps said.
Nearly one-third of local children lack dental insurance, according to the 2005 California Health Interview Survey. Statewide, 21 percent of children lack dental insurance. Children with Denti-Cal, the dental version of California’s Medicaid program, also face significant barriers to care, because few dentists in private practice accept the public insurance, said Joel Diringer, a health care consultant.
Access to care for Denti-Cal patients is only likely to worsen as the state reduces already low payments to providers, according to the California Dental Association.
The connections between poverty and a child’s opportunity to lead a healthy life cannot be ignored, said Harold Slavkin, the dean of University of Southern California School of Dentistry.
“Poverty is the poison of childhood,” he said.
Low-income children are 38 percent more likely to have tooth decay and 50 percent more likely to have untreated decay than higher-income children, according to a 2005 statewide survey of 21,000 kindergartners and thirdgraders by the Oakland-based Dental Health Foundation.
Slavkin said key steps to ensuring fewer children suffer from toothaches are placing equal emphasis on dental and medical health, and promoting oral health in preschool, elementary and secondary school settings.
At Friday’s Summit, First 5 San Luis Obispo also awarded a Health Care Hero award to pediatric dentist Jac Pedersen for his longtime dedication to improving the oral health of local children.

San Luis Obispo City (California) has been fluoridated since 1954: NYSCOF