Richman: Filling the gap in oral health care - Waltham, MA - The Daily News Tribune

Richman: Filling the gap in oral health care - Waltham, MA - The Daily News Tribune: "The fact that millions of Americans continue to suffer from dental disease because they cannot afford to pay for these services is indeed a disgrace. Living in the most affluent country in the world, we should all be ashamed that this situation still exists in the 21st century."

Lack of dental care prompts day for under-served youth to visit the dentist's chair

Lack of dental care prompts day for under-served youth to visit the dentist's chair:

"'Fifteen out of 20 teeth with cavities is not unusual for some children we see, so the dentists do all they can to help, but sometimes they can't finish everything."

North Carolina is 85% fluoridated

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Maryland is 94% fluoridated:

"A new report says about one out of every three Maryland public school children in grades K through 3 had untreated cavities in recent years."

:: Baton Rouge Business Report :: Like pulling teeth

:: Baton Rouge Business Report :: Like pulling teeth:

"Nelson Daly has been a practicing dentist in Baton Rouge since 1994, and business is booming. But he doesn’t accept patients who rely on Medicaid, the government program that covers certain kinds of medical expenses for the poor."

"ust over half of the state’s 1,950 dentists are signed up for Medicaid, although only 663 actually saw even a single Medicaid patient in fiscal year 2006-07."

"3% of Louisiana’s 64 parishes are officially designated as “dental health professional shortage” areas.'

"One way to increase access, used in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and about 40 other nations but implemented in this country only in Alaska, is the use of dental therapists, who provide primary dental care to children and adults in poor, rural areas."

Bill would require dental checkups

Bill would require dental checkups:

"Wendy Humphrey has seen 2-year-olds with 20 teeth and 20 cavities. She's seen 5-year-olds with cavities so far gone, the tooth -- sometimes multiple teeth -- had to be removed."

Fluoridation is state-mandated in Kentucky - 99.6% are fluoridated.

A cavity in children's health - The Boston Globe

A cavity in children's health - The Boston Globe:

"In Massachusetts, 19,000 kindergarteners (28 percent) have tooth decay. And of this number, 10,000 aren't getting treatment,"

Study says minority, low-income Mass. children behind on dental care - The Boston Globe

Study says minority, low-income Mass. children behind on dental care - The Boston Globe:

"Man Wai Ng, chief of the department of dentistry at Children's Hospital Boston, said that in recent years dentists there have encouraged pediatricians to look for dental disease in their patients. As a result, she said, the hospital has seen a 50 percent rise in the number of children referred to dental clinics."

Boston is fluoridated

Mouths of babes: Preventing cavities starts early

Mouths of babes: Preventing cavities starts early:

"The CDC also said children and adolescents living in poverty (annual income of $17,000 for a family of four) 'suffer twice as much tooth decay as their more affluent peers, and their disease is more likely to go untreated.'

But, 90 percent of all tooth decay is preventable simply by following rules of good nutrition and, more important, care of teeth and gums. That effort should start when the child is an infant."

The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia - Boone senator declares war on sugary school snacks in W.Va.

The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia - Boone senator declares war on sugary school snacks in W.Va.:

"CHARLESTON — Rotting teeth and bulging stomachs tell Sen. Ron Stollings that something is terribly wrong with the West Virginia diet."

Charleston, West Virginia is fluoridated and has been for decades

The Price Of A Perfect Smile - Forbes.com

The Price Of A Perfect Smile - Forbes.com:

Fluoride over-exposure has created a lucrative new market for dentistry:

"Of course, teeth whitening remains an area of major growth for the industry, Kelly says. While $25 packs of whitening strips are sold at most drugstores, some patients instead head to the dentist's office, where they spend up to $1,200 for quicker, more dramatic and longer-lasting results. To serve this population of patients, manufacturers have recently started making crowns in lighter shades so they will better match whiter sets of teeth.

For an even brighter smile, dentists such as New York City-based Dr. Jeff Golub-Evans offer pre-bleach washes containing diamond dust. The material acts as a mild abrasive that opens up and cleans the pores of tooth enamel. The $200 polishing process can lighten a person's teeth by two to three shades before bleaching, he says."

Water Futures: Open letter #3 to the Premier: Fluoridation

Water Futures: Open letter #3 to the Premier: Fluoridation: "three quarters of Queensland children ( aged from 5 to 12 yrs ) are recently and publicly documented as having NO DECAY in their permanent teeth. Queensland children and adults do not need, or want Fluoride chemicals added to their water."

ADA.org: ADA News: $20 million donation will treat underserved Illinois kids

ADA.org: ADA News: $20 million donation will treat underserved Illinois kids:

Fluoridation is state-mandated "In Illinois, recent statistics have shown that 55 percent of third-graders overall have tooth decay and 64 percent of third-graders in the state's free/reduced-price lunch program have tooth decay."

Scarcity of dental care for children a community shame

Scarcity of dental care for children a community shame:

"Almost all low-income children in our community are enrolled in medical and dental insurance, but only a fraction of them are able to find a dentist willing to accept their insurance. Consequently, many low-income children in our community do not have a dental home. Low reimbursement rates from public insurance preclude many children from ever seeing a dentist to prevent the escalation of dental problems."

"An estimated 3,000 children in our community suffer from tooth decay so severe that they require anesthesia to receive dental treatment. These children must now undergo traumatic surgical procedures for oral health disease that could have been easily avoided through preventative dentistry.

I find it shameful that the situation has deteriorated to this point. Medi-Cal covers hundreds, even thousands, of dollars for children to receive oral surgical care, but only pays private-practice dentists a few dollars to clean a child’s teeth once a year. Many low-income families have no choice but to wait until simple dental problems escalate before finding relief for their children."

wjz.com - Study: Dental Care Lacking Among Poor Children

wjz.com - Study: Dental Care Lacking Among Poor Children: "Fewer than a third of Maryland's nearly 500,000 Medicaid children were seen by a dentist in 2006, according to a study that found a chronic shortage of pediatric dentists willing to deal with Medicaid paperwork.

Experts consider the situation serious, since a lack of routine dental care can lead to pain and illness that disrupts eating, sleep and learning, and can even lead to death.

'One abscess is all you need,' said Ilaya Rajagopal, a University of Maryland dental fellow working a two-year stint at the Walnut Street Dental Clinic in downtown Hagerstown."

Maryland is 94% fluoridated

Water Futures: Open Letter #1 to the Premier: Fluoridation

Water Futures: Open Letter #1 to the Premier: Fluoridation:

"After drinking fluoridated water for 12 years, Townsville children have more decay, or the same amount of decay, as children who have not consumed fluoridated water"

"The latest National Children’s Dental survey (2002 data) was just released on 17th Dec 2007. This survey shows that with less than 5% of the population drinking fluoridated water, children from Queensland have slightly less decay in their baby teeth than children from the Northern Territory which has 70 % of its population drinking fluoridated water."

"
This new survey also shows Queensland children have less decay in their permanent teeth than children from the ACT ( 100 % fluoridated ) and they have an average of only a twentieth of a tooth more decay than children from Tasmania ( 83% fluoridated ) "

studies suggest that over-consumption of fluoride can raise the risks of disorders affecting teeth, bones, the brain and the thyroid gland � Les desso

studies suggest that over-consumption of fluoride can raise the risks of disorders affecting teeth, bones, the brain and the thyroid gland � Les dessous de l’information mondiale-Downside World News:

"Here is reality of fluoridation, Tasmania (Australia) has been fluoridated for about 50 years and has one of the most intensive fluoridation schemes. Currently it has 41 fluoridation plants for nearly half a million people, is 83% fluoridated at 1.1ppm with Fluosilicic Acid and Sodium Fluoride, And yet: The president of the Australian Dental Association quoted in the Tasmanian Advocate 2001:'Tasmania is in a Dental crisis.'”

"“Tasmanian adults have the worst dental health in the nation with the highest percentage of edentulous (complete loss of natural teeth) adults per capita with 15.3% of the adult population, compared to the national average of 9.7%.The State also has the highest percentage of persons wearing a denture in the nation, with 11.2% in the 25 – 44 year category, which is almost double the national average.” Stated also in this report “Tasmania has had some of the worst health indicators in the nation,”"