AWARENESS OF CONNECTION BETWEEN ORAL AND OVERALL HEALTH 
MUST REACH ALL SOCIOECONOMIC GROUPS

Poor Children At Risk Of Developing Costly Physical and Emotional Ailments

PARSIPPANY, NJ (February 14, 2001) – During National Children’s Dental Health Month, and all year long, Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey (Delta Dental) reinforces the message that oral health is vital for overall health. Children are susceptible to decay as soon as their first tooth arrives, so good oral hygiene must be practiced from an early age. 

“Tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood disease. It is five times more common than asthma and seven times more common than hayfever,” according to Dr. Scott Navarro, Dental Director, Delta Dental. But studies have shown that certain groups of children are more prone to disease than others. “Poor children, says Dr. Navarro, experience twice as much tooth decay as other children.” 

Twenty-five percent of children in this country are considered “below the poverty line.” Dr. Navarro says that in another study, twenty-five percent of school-aged children account for seventy-five percent of the tooth decay. The disproportionate occurrence of disease found in certain socioeconomic populations has been attributed to several factors including access to information and access to care. 

Barriers to oral health 
The Surgeon General has stated that populations without the knowledge or resources needed to achieve good oral care are at serious risk of developing oral diseases which can ultimately compromise their quality of life. One of the barriers to pursuing better oral health is a lack of 
awareness that oral health impacts overall wellbeing. Because they may not understand this link, certain populations may disregard oral care as an unaffordable, low-priority expense. 

Statistics show that while 44 million Americans lack medical insurance, 108 million lack dental insurance. Those who are uninsured are 2.5 times less likely to receive dental care and 3 times as likely to need it as those with insurance. 

Oral disorders and self-esteem
Since oral health and overall health are so closely linked, ignoring oral health problems that begin during childhood can lead to a host of painful and costly physical and emotional ailments. According to the Surgeon General’s report, “Serious oral disorders may undermine self-image and self-esteem, discourage normal social interaction, and lead to chronic stress and depression. They can also interfere with vital functions such as breathing, eating, swallowing, and speaking.” 

The burden of the disease restricts activities in school, work and home, and often significantly diminishes the quality of life. Oral health also impacts absenteeism. Each year 51 million school hours are lost due to dental health issues.

Community Outreach 
In an effort to reach out to children from all socioeconomic backgrounds, the Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey Foundation, Inc. is continuing its very popular child education program featuring Captain Supertooth. For more than a decade, Delta Dental has sponsored Captain Supertooth’s visits with the goal of teaching children proper care of their teeth. While Captain Supertooth is helping children learn about oral health at school, parents should also be reminded that instilling good dental habits in children at an early age will have lifetime effects on overall physical and emotional health. 

Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey, Inc., is New Jersey’s leading and largest dental benefits carrier, providing coverage to more than one million people through contracts with employers in New Jersey and Connecticut. The Delta Dental Plan system is a national network of independently operated, not-for-profit dental service corporations specializing in providing dental benefits programs for employee groups throughout the country.