Oral Health and Disadvantaged Children

Did you realize that poor oral hygiene is significantly associated with poor academic performance? This is especially true among those in lower income brackets.

A recent study showed that students with toothaches were almost four times more likely to have a low grade point average in school. Approximately 11 percent of students who did not have access to much-needed dental care missed much more school than did their more advantaged counterparts. Furthermore, parents lost days at work because of staying home because of their children’s dental problems. The days off often lead to work production losses followed by a profit reductions. Over time, this causes economic downturns in the community’s economy.

In addition, severe dental problems for children were associated with much more than just low grades. It also came with feelings of embarrassment, withdrawal and anxiety, absence from and inability to concentrate at school, low self esteem, and inability to build relationships and participate in social activities.

There are some things that communities can do to improve the oral health of its residents, thereby increasing academic performance and reducing economic losses. One of the greatest means of reducing dental issues in both adults and children is through community water fluoridation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, community water fluoridation has been the most effective way to prevent tooth decay within a community at large. It has found that water fluoridation was one of the 10 greatest public health achievements in the 20^th century.

Regardless of this great achievement, many communities have failed to fluoridate their water. Meadville is among them. A study done in 2001 found that fluoridation is not only cost-effective in reducing dental problems, but is also cost-saving. For example, the study found that the cost of dental fillings from dental carries and/or restorations greatly exceeds the cost of water fluoridation in communities of any size. According to the study, the average cost savings ranged from $15.95 per person per year in a small community to $18.62 per person per year in a larger community. When you consider larger families in any city or town, the savings is significant.

Crawford County’s most recent health assessment revealed that dental issues and access to dental care was prevalent throughout the county. The largest issue was the problem of finding a dentist as well as being able to travel to their office.  A quick search in the Yellow Pages found 68 dentists have offices in Crawford County, most of whom have multiple offices bringing the number down to approximately 40.

Distributed equally across the county’s 88,500 residents would mean that each dentist would be responsible for taking care of 2,212 individuals.

In response to Crawford County’s health assessment, Meadville Medical Center created a dental clinic to help fill the gap. Located in the City of Meadville adjacent to the hospital, the office is helping provide more services to county residents. Still, the lack of dental care in addition to access to any dental office by some of our very rural county residents is a major issue.

Until we can work together as a community – provide access to dentists and fluoridate the water system – we are bound to continue to deal with poor oral hygiene among our children, which leads to lower academic performance and poor marketable skills after graduation.

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2001). Benefits of community water fluoridation. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/benefits.htm#3.

Yellowbook. (2012). Dentists in Crawford County, PA. Retrieved from http://www.yellowbook.com/yellow-pages/?what=dentists&where=crawford+county%2c+pa&page=7.