The ADA Foundation has put up $300K to “Working Together for Oral Health,” a system established to teach pediatricians to diagnose dental problems in children under three years of age. With tooth decay still on the rise in children, the ADA Foundation hopes to reach parents through pediatricians. This collaboration between dental and medical care providers is intended to help underprivileged families learn more about dental health – after all, knowledge is power. Here are some related stats from the CDCP, US Surgeon General, and International Association for Dental Research:
• dental caries is the most prevalent infectious disease among U.S. children;
• while Americans of all ages continue to show improvements in oral health, tooth decay in primary teeth increased among 2- to 5-year-olds;
• more than 51 million hours of school are lost each year because of dental-related problems;
• caries in primary teeth increase the risk of caries in permanent teeth.