February is National Children’s Dental Health Month by Nancy Phillion – special to The Garden Island Each February, the American Dental Association sponsors National Children’s Dental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of oral health. Children in Hawai‘i
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month
by Nancy Phillion – special to The Garden Island
Each February, the American Dental Association sponsors National Children’s Dental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of oral health. Children in Hawai‘i suffer the worst oral health in the United States.
More specifically, Kaua‘i children exhibit the highest rates of dental caries (tooth decay) and baby bottle tooth decay (BBTD) in the United States. Data from the Dental Health Division indicate that Hawai‘i’s children lag behind the U.S. on three other oral health indicators: baby bottle tooth decay, dental caries, and untreated dental decay.
More specifically, the percentage of 5-year-old children affected by BBTD is three times higher than the national average.
Dental caries is the single most chronic disease of childhood, five times more frequent than asthma. Dr. David Satcher, U.S. Surgeon General, has called tooth decay “America’s silent epidemic.”
The consequences of poor oral health can be severe. They can include difficulty in eating, which can affect growth and development, improper nutritional diet, speech problems and reduced self-esteem.
Moreover, young children with dental conditions are distracted in learning and play.
The tragedy is that poor oral health is preventable.
Preventable factors include baby bottle tooth decay, second-hand smoke, use of fluoride, and good nutrition.
Preventive dentistry begins with the first tooth, which usually comes in when the child is between 6 and 12 months old.
Oral health is closely linked to nutrition. Wise food choices early in life can have a major impact on the oral health of children.
Healthy lifestyle habits such as good nutrition are established in the formative years.
In addition, developing good habits at an early age and scheduling regular dental visits helps children get a good start on a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums.
The Kaua‘i Dental Health Task Force (KDHTF) was formed in 1995 as part of the State Health Planning and Development Agency’s Garden Island needs assessment project to implement the recommendations in the priority area of dental health.
The KDHTF works to promote oral health education; prevention of oral disease; and access to dental care by underserved populations.
Since its inception, the KDHTF has sponsored several statewide conferences, developed educational materials and videos on baby bottle tooth decay, and proposed legislative initiatives to promote community water fluoridation for the people of Kaua‘i.
To date, these efforts are ongoing.
The mission of the KDHTF is to improve the oral health of residents on Kaua‘i, especially infants and children. The KDTF has 14 agencies participating in this forum.
For more ideas, information and resources on how to understand, help and enrich your child’s development, call Anna Peters, Kaua‘i Good Beginnings Coordinator at 632-2114 or Cathy Shanks, PATCH at 246-0622.
• This article is provided by the Kaua‘i Good Beginnings Council Public Awareness Committee comprised of K.I.D. School, PATCH, CFS – Healthy Start and Head Start, and DOE- PCNC and PSAP, and DOH.
