An article published in The Journal of the American Dental Association concluded that the high proportion of children requiring restorative treatment and late age at first dental screening indicate there’s a need to invest in educating general dentists, medical students, and pediatricians about oral health guidelines for pediatric patients.
The authors of this study, which included de-identified claims data from 706,636 privately insured children aged 0 – 6, sought to determine how provider type and age at first dental examination are associated with caries experience among children in the United States. A total of 21% of the population required restorative treatment and the average age at first dental examination was 3.6 years.
Early childhood caries remains the most common, preventable infectious disease among children in the United States.
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You may also be interested in:
- Pediatric Primary Care and Oral Health, a research brief that evaluates oral health services being provided in medical well-child visits and the need for greater integration of oral health in primary care to help facilitate early intervention and the prevention of dental disease.
- School Dental Programs Face Stiff Challenges, a report that highlights how COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated access to health care outside of school, as school closures have limited the ability for children to receive basic preventative care.
- Adolescent Dental Care Utilization, a report that explores dental care utilization among Medicaid-enrolled and commercial-insured adolescents.