The Epidemic of Children's Dental Diseases: Putting Teeth into the Law (original) (raw)

2011, HEN: Women's & Children's Health (Topic)

Health care reform often involves a search for interventions that have the greatest value, both in terms of outcome and cost. Preventive dental care for children is simple, low risk, affordable, and has benefits that exceed its cost, making it a sensible type of care for all children to receive. However, there is a literal epidemic of preventable tooth decay amongst children in this country, an epidemic that has proven resistant to many attempts to ameliorate it. This epidemic leads to pain, poor school performance, poor nutrition, infection, and increased risk of heart problems in adulthood. It also, at times, leads to children’s deaths. This Article argues that this pervasive, stubborn problem of preventable dental decay is structural, and requires legal reforms to create a system whereby all, or at least most, children receive the necessary preventive care in a timely manner. This epidemic has highest rates of prevalence in children who have other significant stressors in their l...