America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2009

Oral Health

Oral health is an essential and integral component of health.⁴⁶ Good oral health requires both self-care and professional care. Regular dental visits provide an opportunity for prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of oral and craniofacial diseases and conditions. Routine dental visits are recommended by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry beginning at one year of age.⁴⁷ Dental caries (cavities) is the single most common disease of childhood.⁴⁶ Since the early 1970s, the prevalence of dental caries in permanent teeth has dramatically declined in school-age children due to prevention efforts such as community water fluoridation programs and increased use of toothpastes containing flouride.⁴⁶ Dental caries, however, remains a significant problem among certain racial or ethnic groups and among children in poverty.

Indicator HC4.A: Percentage of children ages 2–17 with a dental visit in the past year by poverty status, 1997–2007

• In 2007, 77 percent of children ages 2–17 had a dental visit in the past year. This percentage has remained relatively constant since 1997, ranging from 73–77 percent.
• In 2007, 67 percent of children living below the poverty level and 70 percent of children living in families with incomes 100–199 percent of the poverty level had a dental visit in the past year, compared to 82 percent of children with family incomes 200 percent or more of the poverty level.
• Fifty-two percent of uninsured children ages 2–17 had a dental visit in the past year, compared with 73 percent of children receiving Medicaid or other public health insurance and 82 percent of children with private health insurance.
• From 1997 to 2007, children ages 2–5 were less likely to have had a dental visit in the past year (56 percent in 2007) than children ages 6–11 (85 percent in 2007) and adolescents ages 12–17 (83 percent in 2007).
• In 2007, among younger children ages 2–5, 58 percent with private health insurance had a dental visit, compared with 40 percent of uninsured children. Among older children ages 6–11, 90 percent with private health insurance had a dental visit in the past year, compared with 60 percent of uninsured children. Among adolescents ages 12–17, 90 percent with private health insurance had a dental visit in the past year, compared with 50 percent of uninsured children.

Indicator HC4.B: Percentage of children ages 2–17 with untreated dental caries (cavities) by age and poverty status, 1999–2002 and 2003–2004

• In 2003–2004, 25 percent of children ages 2–17 had untreated dental caries (cavities) upon dental examination, an increase from 21 percent in 1999–2002.
• In 2003–2004, 23 percent of children ages 2–5 and 14 percent of children ages 6–17 had untreated dental caries.
• In 2003–2004, among children ages 2–5, 29 percent of children living in poverty or living in families with incomes between 100–199 percent of the poverty level had untreated dental caries, compared with 18 percent of children from families with incomes 200 percent or more of the poverty level.
• From 1999–2002 to 2003–2004, the percentage of children ages 2–5 who had untreated dental caries declined by 3 percentage points among children living in poverty, but increased among children in families with incomes 100–199 percent or 200 percent or more of the poverty line. The percentage of children ages 6–17 with untreated dental caries increased for all levels of family income.
• For both younger and older children, the percentage of children with untreated dental caries was higher among Mexican American children than among White, non-Hispanic and Black, non-Hispanic children.

 HC4.A HTML Table, HC4.B HTML Table