Pediatric Oral Health Factoid #6

The education of dental health professionals about their role in preventing and reporting child abuse and neglect is an objective of Prevent Abuse and Neglect through Dental Awareness (P.A.N.D.A.) coalitions. A survey of state reporting statutes and reports of child abuse and neglect suggests that there is uneven attention to this issue. Six of 46 states responding to the survey track dentists as reporters of suspected child abuse and neglect. In five of those six states, <1% of health care providers making reports were dentists, while in one state it was 17%.

Oral Health Factoid Reference:
Compiled and Edited by: Lynn D. Mouden, DDS,MPH, FICD for the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors under a contract with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the US Department of Health and Human Services. A Synopsis of Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Laws for Mandated Reporters: February 1, 1995.

For a copy of this report please contact Karen Kraft at 703-524-7802 or at kkraft@ncemch.org

Pediatric Oral Health Factoid #5

Physical abuse injuries in children are commonly found in the head, face, mouth and neck. According to a national survey, about one quarter of the 13.9 per 1,000 children who are victims of child abuse or neglect suffered physical abuse. One review of cases of child maltreatment involving physical abuse, conducted at a major metropolitan medical center, found that 75% had injuries of the head, face, mouth and neck.

Oral Health Factoid Reference:
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Child Maltreatment 1997: Reports from the States to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. (Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1999).
- da Fonseca MA, Feigal RJ, ten Bensel RW. Dental Aspects of 1248 Cases of Child Maltreatment on File at a Major County Hospital: Pediatric Dentistry: May/June, 1992-Vol. 14. No. 3.

Pediatric Oral Health Factoid #4

A study conducted by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Oral Health found that Medicaid-eligible preschool children in communities without fluoridated water were three times more likely than those in communities with fluoridated water to require dental treatment in a hospital operating room, and the cost of dental treatment per eligible child was approximately twice as high.

Reported by: R. Barsley, DDS, Louisiana State Univ, New Orleans; J. Sutherland, DDS, L. McFarland, DrPH, State Epidemiologist, Office of Public Health, Louisiana Dept of Health and Hospitals. Surveillance, and Research Br, Div of Oral Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC. MMWR: Sept. 3, 1999 -Vol.48 No. 34 pp. 753-757.

Pediatric Oral Health Factoid #3

According to the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association and Cleft Palate Foundation, cleft lip and cleft palate comprise the fourth most common birth defects in the United States, with 1 of every 700 newborns affected by cleft lip and/or cleft palate. For additional information link here: http://www.cleft.com

Pediatric Oral Health Factoid #2

According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III 1988-1994), on average, America’s youngest and poorest children (ages 2-5 and living below the poverty level) have almost 5 times as much tooth decay as children of higher income families (>300% poverty). Furthermore, in poor children with decay, almost 80% of it remains untreated.

Oral Health Factoid Reference: Vargas CM, Crall, JJ, and Schneider DA. Sociodemographic Distribution of Pediatric Dental Caries: NHANES III, 1988-1994. JADA 1998 129:1229-1239.

Pediatric Oral Health Factoid #1

For every child in America who does not have medical insurance there are 2.6 children who do not have dental insurance. According to the National Health Interview Survery (1995) 36% of US children -- about 27 million -- have no dental coverage.

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