2016 Community Health Action Plan | Page 32

Oral Health The increasing number of children living with untreated dental decay and/or dental caries has been identified as a silent epidemic by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The CDC has identified approximately one in four children aged 3–5 and 6–9 years living in poverty has untreated dental caries. Further, dental health issues continue to be a leading cause of school absenteeism for Colorado’s kids. According to the Delta Dental Foundation, in Colorado, on average, parents miss 2.5 days of work and kids miss 58 hours of school to address oral health challenges. Further, kids with untreated caries or tooth decay are four times more likely to see a decline in their Grade Point Average and are at an increased risk of experiencing type 2 Diabetes and challenges with their cardiovascular health. Additionally, pregnant women with untreated dental health challenges are at a higher risk of experiencing premature delivery of their babies. When you take these alarming facts and couple them with the information that oral health was the leading health issue identified by low income families in our community health needs assessment survey there is no way to ignore the need to take action. Children’s Hospital Colorado will focus on two major areas of prevention and health promotion to address this health priority area: Goal 1: Increase Access to Oral Health Care Goal 2: Promote oral health in provider, community and home settings Colorado vs National Oral Health 32 14% Third graders untreated dental caries 70% Hispanic third graders untreated dental caries 18%