| Statistics
indicate that Native American children suffer from more
tooth decay and other oral health problems than other U.S.
children.
The differences are startling. According to the Children's
Dental Health Project (CDHP):
- Native
American preschoolers are five times more likely to have
tooth decay than their peers.
- More than 9 in
10 Native American children have tooth decay before
third grade.
- Native
American children in primary school have four times the
amount of untreated tooth decay as their peers.
- Native
American teens have more than twice the tooth decay as
their peers.
Some of the
reasons behind these statistics:
- 29% of Native
American children ages 2 to 17 had not seen a dentist in
the past year (compared to 21% of Caucasian, non-Latino
children in the same age group).
- Native
Americans are two to three times as likely to lack
dental insurance as Caucasian families.
The CDHP, a
Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization, advances
policies that improve children's access to oral health.
CDHP forges research-driven policies and innovative
solutions by engaging a broad base of partners committed
to children and oral health.
(www.cdhp.org/downloads/NatAmerBrief.pdf#search=%22child%20oral%20health%22
and
www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/95/8/1325?ck=nck) |
