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ORAL HEALTH FACTS
- Tooth decay remains the most common chronic problem among children in the U.S.1
- Only 57% of Arizona children visited the dentist in 2006.2
- By the time Arizona children are 11 to 13 years of age, 65% have experienced tooth decay.3
- Untreated dental decay can cause pain and tooth loss, which in turn is associated with poor nutrition, impaired speech development, absence from school, inability to concentrate and reduced self-esteem.4
- Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease among Arizona children-- 5 times more common than asthma and seven times more common than hay fever.3
- One in three Arizona children (34%) under the age of three has untreated tooth decay.5
- 60% of children ages 6 to 8 have experienced tooth decay.4
- Arizona children on average have 5 teeth affected by tooth decay. This is three times higher than the national average of 1.4 teeth with decay or fillings.5
- More than half of children ages 5 to 9 have had at least one cavity or filling.6
- Early childhood dental disease occurs in all racial and socioeconomic groups; however, it approaches near epidemic proportions among low-income children.
- Arizona's ratio of dentist-to-population is lower than the US average. Arizona has one dentist for every 2,250 people. The national average is one dentist to every 1,740 people, a difference of 510 people per dentist.3
- While 24% of Arizonans lack medical insurance, over 44% of Arizona adults and 38% of children lack dental insurance.3
- Children and adolescents living in poverty suffer twice as much tooth decay as their more affluent peers, and their disease is more likely to go untreated.6
- For every child without medical insurance, there are at least 2.6 children without dental insurance.6
- Arizona's Medicaid program (known as AHCCCS) and Arizona's SCHIP Program KidsCare provide dental coverage to young children, but less than 30% received care in 2002.
1-Arizona Department of Health Services, "The Severity of Tooth Decay in Arizona's Children," www.azdhs.gov
2-Arizona Health Information, www.azhealthinfo.org/
3-Arizona Department of Health Services, "Healthy Arizona 2010 Program," www.azdhs.gov
4-Arizona Department of Health Services, "Children's Oral Health in Arizona," www.azdhs.gov
5-Arizona Department of Health Services, "AZ Smiles Dental Statistics," www.azsmiles.org
6-Center for Disease Control and Prevention, "Children's Oral Health," www.cdc.gov
7-Arizona Department of Health Services, "Oral Health Disparities in Arizona's Children,"
www.azdhs.gov
8-Arizona Head Start Association, "Oral Health Forum Summary Report," www.astdd.org
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