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Community-Based
Strategies to Prevent Tooth Decay Save Money
- Every dollar spent
on community water fluoridation saves from $7 to $42 in treatment
costs depending on the size of the community. Savings are greatest in
large communities.
- At least 60% of the
U.S. population on public water systems has received fluoridated water
since 1990, translating to savings in dental treatment costs of over
$25.7 billion in the past decade
- School-based dental
sealant programs are cost saving when delivered to populations at
high-risk for tooth decay, such as children in low-income
households.
Effective
Strategies
- Community and school
partnerships raise awareness of the value of school sealant programs. Healthy
Smiles for Wisconsin, a CDC-supported state-wide effort to improve
the oral health of Wisconsin children through school and community
partnerships, began in October 2000; it helped to establish 40 new
community-based sealant programs during the 2000-2001 school year.
During that year, more than 4,500 children in 40 counties received
dental sealants.
- Community coalitions
are essential for gaining approval for community water fluoridation.
During the past decade, broad-based citizen coalitions in several
large U.S. cities have educated residents about the benefits of water
fluoridation. Water fluoridation was approved in many of these
jurisdictions, including Los Angeles and Sacramento, CA; Manchester,
NH; Las Vegas, NV; San Antonio, TX; and Salt Lake City, UT.
Hope for the
future
Many Americans now
enjoy markedly better oral health than their parents did. However, certain
segments of the population (e.g., those who are poor, who are members of
racial or ethnic minority groups, or who are elderly) still have severe
dental decay, much of which remains untreated. Healthy People 2010 seeks
to eliminate these disparities, so that all Americans receive the benefits
of good oral health. Community-based programs are a particularly
cost-effective way to help achieve this goal. For example, extending
fluoridated water to the remaining 34% of the population on public water
systems would save over $1.5 billion dollars per year. Increasing the
percentage of children at high risk for tooth decay who participate in
school sealant programs to 50% would prevent over half of the caries that
these children would otherwise have and save public health dollars.
State
Programs in Action: Ohio
 School-based
sealant programs in Ohio began in 1984 with a single demonstration
program in one city. By 2000, 34 of Ohio’s 88 counties had
programs. These programs target children who are at high risk for
tooth decay and least likely to receive dental care.
 As
the program has expanded, the percentage of 8-year-olds statewide
who have dental sealants has increased steadily, from 11% in 1987–88
to 30% in 1998–99. Although this percentage still falls short of
the Healthy People 2010 objective of 50%, children from all
demographic groups in schools with sealant programs have achieved or
exceeded the objective.
- Among children
eligible for the free and reduced-cost lunch program, 54% of
those in schools with sealant programs have sealants, compared
with 19% of those in schools without programs.
- Among children
covered by Medicaid, 58% in schools with sealant programs have
sealants, compared with 22% in schools without programs.
- In schools
with sealant programs, the same proportion of children on
Medicaid (58%) have sealants as those with private dental
insurance, thus eliminating a common disparity.
Although the Ohio
program has met only a portion of the need for dental sealants, it
has shown that school-based programs can reach children at high risk
for tooth decay with this effective preventive measure. |
For more information,
visit www.cdc.gov/nccdphp
For additional copies of this document, E-mail ccdinfo@cdc.gov
Department
of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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