Prevention

We believe it’s important to instill good oral health habits in early childhood to ensure a healthy mouth throughout life. Caries can spread from baby teeth to permanent teeth and there are clear oral health connections to healthy pregnancy outcomes. Furthermore, inability to introduce oral health hygiene early in life can cause significant physical, mental, and social complications later in life. For example, toothaches can impact students’ grades by making it difficult to focus in class or causing the student to miss school altogether. Elementary-school students miss an average of 2.1 days of school per year due to dental problems.¹ Preventive oral health care consists of efforts such as regular oral exams, along with good oral hygiene to stop tooth decay, and disease before it can take hold. 

Data:

• More than 30% of Colorado’s kindergarteners have cavities.²
• Children under the age of 6, specifically those facing disparities, are significantly less likely to utilize preventive oral health services.³
• If a child receives four fluoride varnishes before age 3, the risk of cavities is reduced by 16%.²
• Children under the age of 5 are the least likely to visit a dentist.³
• Only 44% of children age 1–5 enrolled in Medicaid received preventive oral health services.⁴
• Estimated 30–40% of pregnant women have periodontal disease, linked to low birthweight and other adverse birth outcomes.⁵

Sources:

¹ Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry at USC 2012
² Colorado Basic Screening Survey 2016—2017
³ Colorado Health Access Survey 2019
⁴ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 2016-2019
⁵ Access to Oral Health Care: A National Crisis and Call for Reform 2017