ORAL HEALTH2 According to the Surgeon General, tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease. The State of Wisconsin has the Head Start program that helps promote school readiness for children in low-income families. Children from lower economic populations tend to develop more tooth decay than children in higher socioeconomic populations and tooth decay may have a huge impact on children’s ability to speak, learn, and eat (Wisconsin Office of Rural Health, 2019). This paper aims to provide specific information to non-dental providers to help develop a prevention program in connection with the objectives of Healthy People 2020, to impact children ages 3-5 positively in their oral health with development of primary, secondary, and tertiary care plans. Overview, Background, and Significance Although there have been many improvements in the area of oral health, there are many disparities for racial groups and ethnic groups, by economic status, age, gender, and geographic location. Oral health in children is very important to be monitored in order to implement resources and programs to address areas of need. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that children ages 3–5 and 6–9 who are of Mexican American and non- Hispanic black descent are found to have the greatest incidence of tooth decay(2020). Overall, Non-Hispanic blacks, Hispanics, American Indians, and Alaska Natives generally have the worst oral health of any racial and ethnic groups in the United States. The most common factors related economically to poor oral health include access to health care services as well as the ability to get and keep dental insurance. In Wisconsin almost one out of four Head Start children have untreated tooth decay. In addition, approximately 20% have early childhood caries, 24% have treated decay, and 41% have caries experience (Wisconsin Dept of Health Services, 2017)
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