Dental News - Kids' oral health at stake as US votes for health reform

Daniel Zimmermann, DTI

Fri. 20 November 2009

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NEW YORK, NY, USA/LEIPZIG, Germany: Dental health organisations in the United States have hailed the decision of the US Senate to recognise a number of measures for improving the oral health state of children including expanded coverage for paediatric oral health services in its health reform bill. The sweeping health legislation, which passed the House of Representatives in early November and faces its crucial first vote in the Senate tomorrow, also contains a number of measures for improving prevention, training and resources for tracking and monitoring oral health data among vulnerable populations.

Dental caries is one of the most prevalent health problems in the United States, and disparities in oral health are evident across the life span. A report by the US National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center showes that although more than 90 per cent of general dentists in the US provide care to children and adolescents, very few provide care to children under four.

Among children and adolescents from families with low incomes, nearly 80 per cent of decayed primary teeth have not been restored in children between the ages of two and five, the report also states.

“The Senate has taken a historic step toward safeguarding the oral health of millions of Americans,” said Dr Burt Edelstein, chair and founder of Children’s Dental Health Project, a non-profit organisation based in Washington DC. “As the bill moves toward passage in the Senate and a conference with the US House, it is vital to preserve these provisions.”

“We are confident that members of the House and Senate will remain steadfast in their commitment to oral health and will work together to ensure that the oral health measures contained in this legislation remain strong,” he added.

The Senate version of the health bill, which is the centrepiece of president Obama’s social policy and will cost more than US$800 billion over the next ten years, would extend coverage to 36 million people without insurance while creating a government health insurance programme.

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