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%