Ecological Model Of Oral Health

“The impact of unmet oral health care needs is magnified by the well-established connection between oral health and overall health” (Fineberg, H. 2011, p. ix). Oral health status is linked with general health, as evidenced by the association between poor oral health and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease. Poor oral hygiene can also lead to other health issues such as, oral facial pain and digestive problems. “The silent epidemic of oral diseases disproportionately affects disadvantaged communities,

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

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.

The central objective of this article is to address the need for a strategical shift towards a social determinant approach in response to oral health disparities widespread in modern society. As illustrated through socioeconomic gradients in oral disease, social influences on said inequities are emerging. In the context of paediatric oral health, parental education and income are evaluated as dominant social factors. Furthermore, early childhood circumstances, workplace stress and marriage quality are examples of major psychosocial influences over dental disease as they inextricably shape individual health behaviours. Evidently, social determinants are the ultimate ‘causes of the

The websites I used for my research were Center for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization. The World Health Organization defines Oral Health as “a state of being free from chronic mouth and facial pain, oral and throat cancer, oral sores, birth defects such as cleft lip and palate, periodontal (gum) disease, tooth decay and tooth loss, and other diseases and disorders that affect the oral cavity” (2015). It is necessary to brush our teeth twice a day for two minutes and floss daily. Since tooth decay has been one of the most common chronic disease among children in the United States, I found it very important to educate them that this is a preventable disease and what ways it can be

Furthermore, our results agree with what Okunseri et al. (2011) state that in the United States that a majority of younger kids drink more acidic beverages like juices and sodas over water and milk, juices and sodas were found to be associated with erosive teeth wear in a study of children around the age of 12 in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. Our results had the greatest difference in surface area and volume with the more acidic beverage which was the orange

Because children are influenced by the family tradition and learn from their parents, it is important for parents to make sure that they are teaching proper oral care habits at a young age. The habits that children should learn at a young age are; keeping up with home dental care, receiving the dental care that people should, needing dental care but being enforced to go, brushing teeth as well as they should, being taught on how to control snacking between meals as well as they should, and being taught that dental care is indeed important. " Poor oral health has an impact upon children's health in general and dental caries can lead to a lack of appetite, problems with chewing, problems with sleeping and a decrease in school performance" (Abanto et al, 2011). Proper health education is somewhat

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.

The prevention of caries is accomplished through the execution of a variety of measures, such as the fluoridation of the drinking water supply as well as the utilization of sealants and topical fluorides (Mouradian, Wehr, and Crall 2625). Despite the ease of preventability of tooth decay, it is one of the most common childhood chronic diseases, with more than half of the nation’s children having detectable caries (Mouradian, Wehr, and Crall 2625). Unfortunately, only 62% of water supplies are fluoridated, and underserved communities with low-income and minority families are usually the ones who are disproportionately affected (Mouradian, Wehr, and Crall 2626). Low-income individuals are generally less likely to seek preventative care, increasing their costs of neglected oral diseases and morbidity factors (Mouradian, Wehr, and Crall 2626). In addition, only one in five children who are covered by Medicaid are authorized for preventative oral healthcare, while restorative care is generally not even a consideration (Mouradian, Wehr, and Crall 2625).

Often, parents who have poor oral health have a history of poor oral health that is accompanied by negative experiences in dentistry as a child, such as painful restoration and extractions. This history often creates an attitude of fear and negativity towards dental professionals that is passed to their children through learned behaviors. Parents who lack a history of oral health tradition are less likely to seek preventative services for their children (Buerlein, Horowitz, & Child, 2011 and Hallberg, et al, 2008).

Prevention of oral disease is critical in Early Head Start (EHS) programs. “Early childhood caries has emerged as a concern over the past few years because of its widespread and increasing prevalence, its inequitable distribution among preschool-aged children and its negative consequences for children, their families, and public health programs” (Mofidi, Zeldin, & Rozier, 2009, p. 245). Assessable to young children in most parts of the United Stated, dental care provides treatment, particularly to children in low-income families. Rates of failure to treat oral health has increase tremendously. Approaches explored by EHS programs to treat as well as prevent will decrease high-risk for early childhood caries.

“Tooth decay is our nation’s most common childhood disease” (Nash, Mathu-Muju, Friedman, 2015). For years, childhood tooth decay and caries have been an increasing challenge. In addition to being the most common childhood disease, it is also the most prevalent health need that is consistently unmet. Despite these statistics, it is also known that early childhood caries (ECC) is highly preventable and can even be reversed with early diagnosis and professional intervention and guidance upon dental visits (Beil, Rozier, Preisser, Stearns, and Lee, 2014). So, if it is known that regular dental visits correlate with fewer ECC and treatments, then why is it that there is still such a high statistical number of untreated cases? Although this challenge has many factors associated with it, one of the largest challenges to oral health in Canada is access to oral healthcare for children. These children who lack access, statistically, have more oral disparities that may follow them into adulthood. Thus, creating an oral health problem for when this generation becomes adults as well. To solve the root of the problem, there is a need to focus on increasing children’s oral health and access to oral healthcare. Questions arise of why these children lack the access and what can be done to change this. Solutions such as introducing dental care and checkups in rural and community preschools/elementary have been of recent interest and will be discussed further (Nash et al., 2015). Here, the

Early intervention and care can prevent most of the oral health diseases. Nevertheless, dental caries remains the most common chronic disease among children and adolescents in the United States (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). About 14.4% of children aged 3-5 years had untreated dental caries in 2009 -2010 (Dye 2012). In addition to pain and discomfort, untreated deciduous tooth caries can spread to roots and may lead to loss of tooth. This can subsequently affect the successor permanent tooth eruption leading to malocclusion which in turn can result in permanent teeth caries. Between 2007 and 2010, 15.6% of children aged 6-19 years had untreated dental caries (National Center for Health Statistics, 2014).

The ADA is a non-profit and nation’s largest dental association, which represents more than 150,000 dentists. The ADA has grown to become the leading source of oral health related information for dentists and their patients. (ADA, n.d.). The American Dental Association argues that food selection and eating habits have a significant role in maintaining good oral health. Furthermore, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) states that there is consistent evidence that dental caries would be lower if added sugars consumption is less than 10 percent of energy intake which could occur if consumers attention is brought to added sugars (ADA, 2015). To support their claims the ADA used the DGAC assessment on dental caries, which is based on the review accredited by the World Health Organization (ADA, 2015). Therefore, it can be affirmed that the evidence is suffice and

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).