Bad teeth more common among minorities and special needs of children

Main category: Pediatrics and children's health
Also included in: pain / anesthetics;??Dentistry
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Poor, minority and needs special children are more likely to be affected by toothache, according to an article published in the archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives Journals November issue.

"Bad for the teeth is a source of chronic and often severe pain that interferes with the ability of the child to play, eat and pay attention to school", authors write as background information to study. The authors also note that "the most frequent cause of bad teeth is tooth decay" and the "process of tooth decay is optimal would be prevented or, at least, identified at the beginning and then arrested by provision of regularly for professional dental care." However, some children's U.S., including those who are insured Medicaid, access to preventive and restorative dental care is more difficult. ?

Charlotte Lewis, M.D., M.P.H. and James Stout, M.D., M.P.H., both from the school of the University of medicine, Washington Seattle, studied the 2007 National Survey of children's health data to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for bad teeth in children. The data were collected on a sample of population-based parents/guardians 86,730 children aged 1 to 17 of 50 States and the district of Columbia. Based on the population represented by the sample, the authors found that approximately 10.7 percent of U.S. children had bad teeth during the preceding six months. Bad teeth is most common in children aged 6 to 12, with one in seven affected teeth for six months.

The authors also found that 58% of children who had bad teeth also reported cavities in the last six months. In addition, even when control assurance and status of poverty, black and multiracial children had significantly higher probability of having suffered a bad teeth than white children. Poor children had the highest prevalence of bad teeth and Medicaid patients insured children were more likely to be affected that children not insured or private persons. Have found that children with special needs health care have a significantly higher prevalence of bad teeth compared to special needs children then limited special needs functionally children had rates even more difficult for the teeth.

"Prevalence of teeth, particularly in vulnerable groups which disproportionately experience, reinforces the importance of the participation of doctors in oral health and efforts to better assess and improve the oral health of our country and dental care," the authors conclude. "Optimal care of health of our nation would equitable and universal care dental access so that all Americans could get preventive oral health as well as timely diagnosis and treatment of oral disease."

"There are opportunities for pediatric care providers deal with prevention of oral, health assessment for dental caries and tooth pain and treat complications." We offer bad teeth as a potential indicator of quality that reflects a public oral health disparities. ?

(Arch 2010; 164 [11]: 1059-1063) Pediatr Adolesc Med

Source:
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine

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