Question:
ORAL HEALTH ?
Answer:
While oral health care has traditionally been split off from the rest of
health care, from an individual's point of view, there is no difference.
Just as a child cannot concentrate or learn in school if they have an
upset stomach, they cannot learn if they have a tooth infection. And yet
many states have not made the needed investment to make sure that
children and adults have access to quality, affordable oral health care.
In his paper, Oral Health for All: Policy for Available, Accessible and
Acceptable Care, Dr. Rueben Warren recommends policy changes that are
aimed at improving access to oral health care.
Unfortunately, oral disease remains pervasive among millions of children
in the U.S. Children from low-income families and racial and ethnic
minorities are at high risk of oral disease. Despite tremendous advances
in prevention, tooth decay remains the most common chronic and
infectious disease among children.
The consequences of tooth decay go beyond oral health problems to affect
all aspects of children's lives. Chronically poor oral health is also
associated with diminished growth in toddlers and compromised nutrition
due to problems eating, and cardiac and obstetric dysfunction in adults
(National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center, 1998).
Children not only suffer health problems as a result, but also may have
social and psychological problems such as, distraction from learning and
sleeping due to toothaches and pain, and the diminished self-esteem
resulting from the unattractiveness of tooth decay.
States have the opportunity to provide dental care to low-income
individuals through Medicaid and CHIP. Currently, only 20% of children
who are eligible for Medicaid receive preventive dental care each year.
Although the federal government sets broad national guidelines, states
have the authority to design programs according to their needs.
To improve access to care under Medicaid and CHIP, states can broaden
eligibility criteria to cover an increased number of adults and
children, thereby making oral health services more financially
available.
To find out what states are doing to improve access to oral health
services and how they are addressing oral health problems, particularly
for underserved communities, please see
http://www.cfpa.org/issues/healthcare/dental/index.cfm
