WHAT'S NEW...IN HEALTHCARE ACCESS
Dental Care Vital for All Children
LARRY MAST; KING COUNTY JOURNAL
Published: June 2005
Caring for children and helping to ensure that they grow up cavity-free has been my privilege and passion for more than 30 years. Increasing the number of young, low-income children who remain cavity-free has been an important part of this work in recent years through the Access to Baby and Child Dentistry program.
ABCD helps local families with Medicaid-eligible children
younger than six years old find a dentist and get preventive
and restorative dental care.
While the program has helped nearly 60,000 children across
the state have healthier teeth for the rest of their lives,
it is not at full capacity in King County -- there are enough
participating dentists that hundreds of more children could
be seen each month.
It's important to spread the word that Medicaid covers dental care for children. Less than 30 percent of King County children up through age 5 who are enrolled in the Medicaid program visit a dentist each year.
People also need to know that children should be screened for cavities by their first birthday. Early preventive treatment is critical. Contrary to "conventional wisdom'' of years past, experts now agree that parents shouldn't wait until their children are 3 or older to have that first oral health check-up. Baby teeth matter. They are important for a lifetime of good oral and overall health. The new slogan that parents and caregivers should remember is "First screen by first birthday.''
Dental decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease -- five times more common than asthma. Oral disease is one of the leading causes of absenteeism among school kids, and children who are in pain have difficulty focusing on their schoolwork and getting proper nutrition. The good news is that oral disease is preventable. "So a program like ABCD, which helps place kids at a very young age on the right track toward oral health, can have a significant long-term impact."
In addition to helping children from low-income families get preventive care and any needed treatment, there are numerous other benefits to ABCD:
* ABCD saves money. The cost of preventing cavities is
much less than the cost of treating cavities. Moreover,
kids who don't receive early treatment and end up with cavities
may have abscessed teeth and other problems that can cost
thousands of dollars to treat. Extensive dental decay is
one of the top five reasons children receive care in the
operating rooms of Children's Hospital and Regional Medical
Center in Seattle.
* ABCD provides the latest information to participating
dentists on new techniques to treat very young patients
and how to ease fears that children may have about dental
visits.
* ABCD educates parents on good oral health practices and
how to access dental services. And because oral disease
is associated with heart disease, stroke and other serious
illnesses, a program that instills good oral health care
habits early can literally be a lifesaver.
* If you are a parent of a Medicaid-eligible child, or someone
you know has a child that may be eligible, consider the
difference that ABCD could make in the life of that child
and pick up the phone. * To enroll a child in the ABCD program,
call the Community Health Access Program at 1-800-756-5437.
VISIT THE ABCD web site - www.abcd-dental.org
