A Report Of The Surgeon General Stated That Minority And Low Income Children

Oral health has a direct impact on the general health, hence, it is important that all Canadians have adequate access to dental care services. Over the years successive Governments have reduced financial support to programs delivering dental care to most vulnerable populations. As a result, many low income families and other vulnerable groups have been unable to access dental care. There is further escalation in the disparities in oral health care among Canadians, as the number of Canadians losing dental care benefits continues to increase. Also, higher oral health care costs can be expected in the near future due to shortage of health care professionals.

While most of the patients I interacted with were seeking non-dental care, I met patients who were seeking care to health conditions that stem from their oral health such as oral abscesses, which our team was unable to treat except for prescribing antibiotics or painkillers. I encountered similar situations when I shadowed physicians in the emergency room of hospitals, observing a variety of craniofacial disorders originating from a preventable tooth decay. From these observations, I learned that patients often did not receive treatment that addressed the root of their problems: their oral health. As the result, I learned that many physicians saw the same patient repeatedly for problems that would otherwise be easily prevented through proper preventive dental care. Determining to address the unmet needs for accessible preventive dental care, I decided to pursue a career in dentistry so that I can provide a positive and meaningful impact to the underserved community on their oral health and ultimately their overall

In the course of my time volunteering at the UCSD Student-Run Free Dental Clinics, I came to understand how poverty, language barriers, and a lack of knowledge about the importance of dental care can lead to readily preventable and treatable dental problems. These dental problems can lead to a cascade of issues, preventing an individual’s progress. As a clinic volunteer inside the school’s dental clinic, I noticed young students, with poor dental care, have constant pain that affected their studies and attitude. I recall a Hispanic young boy telling me he was sharing a toothbrush with his family. I hand over multiple toothbrushes and, using Spanish cards, educate him on oral hygiene. With each treatment visit, he was eager to tell the dentist

Many low income areas have dental therapists as part of their local dental team. Many people in these areas have never been to a dentist or do not go every six months as recommended this poses many other health problems. There has been case studies and data showing that in these areas dental health

Over 130 million Americans do not have dental insurance. On top of that, almost a million emergency room visits last year resulted from preventable oral conditions. Many Americans today are unaware of how the condition of their dentition affects their overall health. Socioeconomic limitations, the lack of dental education in parents, eating habits, and simply the availability of dentists plays a key role in the state of children’s oral health; implementing a universal dental care program will help lower the barriers that many people face when it comes to receiving the dental care they need. The program will target high-risk individuals who are prone to dental caries and provide them with standard treatment.

Oral health care is an integral part of the US healthcare system. In 2012, Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced “The Comprehensive Dental Reform Act”, which aimed on expanding dental coverage, accessible oral health care centers, increase in dental workforce, enhanced dental education and encourage dental research. (Congress.gov). The ACA, aim to curb the national health spending, by facilitating the affordability to quality care through private and public health insurance. The purpose of this bill is to cut the healthcare costs and to reverse the “silent epidemic” of dental health status (surgeon gen). This dental bill with an integrated approach towards the preventive and comprehensive oral healthcare is estimated to provide coverage to almost 17.7 million adults. (ADA

Unlike the previous studies mentioned here, this study by Decker & Lipton (2015) looked more on adults who are covered by the Medicaid. Two key findings were revealed in this study—first of all, an increase of the likelihood of dental care visit is evidenced by those who have Medicaid coverage and second, there is also a reduction of the likelihood of untreated dental caries. It is also concluded that Medicaid is essential in promoting dental care and that it is strongly suggested that it should be expanded to further benefit a wider population of

The utilization of assigned dental home linkage, which is considered to be a key factor in the attempt to reducing the risk of caries development in children by timely provision of services by health care professionals is extremely low in the DC-Medicaid cohort for Calendar year 2014. Out of 55 individuals who were seen by a physician, only 6 had a follow up visit with a dentist, which is far lower than expected, and we did not do any further analysis of this finding. It represents the need for special measures that need to be taken. A combined effort of spreading awareness among people, physicians and dentist through education, and further research by qualitative analysis to find the reasons for such low referral rate might be

While the private sector provides excellent quality of oral health care for its patients, many vulnerable groups have difficulty with access.2 It is also these vulnerable groups who demonstrate extremely high levels of oral health disease. According to a 2014 report issued by the Canadian Academy of Health Services (CAHS), the following represent Canada’s most vulnerable groups: individuals with low incomes; younger age children living in low-income families; individuals working without dental insurance; elderly populations with low incomes and/or living in institutions; aboriginal people, immigrants/refugees; people with disabilities; and, populations living in rural/remote communities.2 The CAHS authors report that increasingly and in light of challenging economic times, families from lower-middle income strata are also demonstrating difficulty with accessing oral health care (this is partially attributable to an increasing tendency toward part-time employment rather than full-time employment with benefits).

Underserved and Low-income populations face high rates of untreated dental diseases due to low access to dental treatment. One of the main causes of this problem is lack of participating dentists or poor distribution of dentists due to transportation problems. Untreated oral diseases are often seen in low-income communities and underserved populations The most common oral diseases that manifest in underserved populations are periodontal diseases and dental caries

Disparities in pediatric oral health care have been a growing issue world wide, but more importantly in the state of North Carolina. In order to improve oral health in children in lower income areas, there is a need to lower the cost of dental care, educate parents on preventative care, and build more clinics in local areas. There are many factors that contribute to the improvement of pediatric oral health, with a plethora of committed dentists and a local community determined to improve the overall health of the most vulnerable citizens in our society. As a community we have collectively designed effective solutions to address this established health disparity, which ultimately affects the oral health of every child in Orange County, NC.

Home oral health care is another direct individual-level contributing factor to children’s oral health (Armfield, Mejia, & Jameson, 2013). Young children often do not have the dexterity to adequately remove plaque from all areas of the mouth (Schwatrz, 2013). Inadequate plaque removal, combined with a diet high in fermentable carbohydrates puts a child at greater risk for developing dental caries.

Although considered preventable, 53.6% of Medicaid eligible kindergarteners studied in California had a history of dental caries and 27.8 % had decay present at the time of the screening (Dental Health Foundation, 2006). Teaching young children effective oral hygiene techniques is the most effective way to protect the child’s teeth and help them to develop a daily oral wellness routine ("Dental Health," 2015). By focusing on those most in need, Medicaid eligible preschool aged children, teaching and reinforcing effective oral hygiene strategies early in life will foster a lifelong habit of oral health wellness (Gardner, Lally, & Wardle, 2012).

Access to healthcare has been considered a major reason behind many adverse health outcomes and it is attributed to be the primary reason or and intermediate factor which increases infant morbidity and mortality. [1] However, it is equally important to understand the pattern of utilization of healthcare services, when they are made available and accessible. Awareness about the available healthcare facilities and the importance of prevention over intervention is of utmost importance to support the measures taken to make access to healthcare available for all. Since October 2013, 47 states and District of Columbia physicians who have undergone a continuing medical education course are permitted by Department of Health Care Finance to provide and bill for oral health screenings and fluoride varnishes in children less than 3 years of age, as a measure to extend the preventive health force. [2] Numerous attempts made to educate the population about the importance of maintaining dental health have shown little effect, however it took one incident to make a huge difference at individual and policy level. In 2007, the death of 12-year old Deamonte driver due to a tooth infection leading to brain abscess raised a lot of questions for the existing issue of missing dental home linkage for pediatric Medicaid beneficiaries and children in general. Out of those eligible in Medicaid program for dental services, less than 20% children under age of 3 years received a dental

Although many Americans have good oral hygiene due to fluoride and making everyday good decisions, others do not have any access at all to oral health care. Over the years, dentists have been trying to demonstrate the importance of oral care. (“Access to Dental Care”) From commercials to campaigns, dentists will continue to demonstrate to their patients as well as to the people who don't have insurance the importance of oral health care. They will teach them preventative care and some techniques on how to prevent from getting any diseases.