Too Few Visits to the Dentist? The Impact on Children's Health.

Noting that although dental disease is preventable, dental decay is still the most common and costly oral health problem among children, this special Kids Count report presents information on oral health and the role of prevention and the problem of poor oral health in Arkansas. Included in the report is information on the obstacles in accessing oral health care in the state, noting that the problem is most pronounced in rural areas and for children in low-income families. State maps detail the number of licensed dentists for each county, the number accepting Medicaid payment, and the number of counties with communities having either natural or adjusted fluoridation. Statistics on the following oral health indicators are presented for Arkansas and for the nation as a whole: (1) sealant rate; (2) proportion of the population visiting the dentist in the past year; (3) fluoridation status; (4) proportion having professional teeth cleaning in the past year; and (5) dentists per person. The report notes that Arkansas' oral health indicators are slightly worse than their national indicators but considerably worse than the goals of Healthy People 2010. The problems of access to dental care and water fluoridation are discussed, and potential solutions to the oral health emergency are delineated. The report concludes with a description of a model program and acknowledgments. (Contains 25 endnotes.) (KB)