Dental Health Among Connecticut's Young Children is Lacking, Report Finds

A new report by the Connecticut Department of Public Health and the Connecticut Oral Health Initiative (COHI)  found that tooth decay  is the most common chronic infectious disease in children and is considered a significant public health challenge. Despite being a preventable disease, it affects one out of three (34%) children in Connecticut. Among Connecticut’s kindergarten and third graders, the focus of the report, children from lower income families “had a higher prevalence of every category of dental decay.”

It is caused by transmissible oral bacteria that digest sugars from food and drink within the mouth and create acid, which erodes tooth surfaces. There is increasing awareness that oral disease such as tooth decay is a multifactorial process, where socioeconomic, behavioral, and psychosocial factors (the social determinants of health) ultimately affect diet and oral health habits, the report points out, resulting in dental decay. “ Left untreated, dental decay can lead to problems in overall health and well-being.,” the report noted.

The Every Smile Counts 2022 Children's report is based on a survey COHI was contracted to conduct through the Connecticut Department of Public Health and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 40-page report follows the 2007, 2012, and 2017 Every Smile Counts reports, to inform the development of state policies and programs that ensure Connecticut's children have access to preventative and therapeutic dental care for optimal oral health. 

The 2022 Every Smiles Counts statewide health survey of kindergarten and third grade children is based on a representative sample of elementary schools. More than 4,600 children received dental screenings in 46 schools and 37 school districts. The oral health information collected is organized into nine key findings, including the one highlighted above. 

The report identifies several serious concerns, including the continuation of dental decay, race and ethnicity-based disparities in levels of dental disease, an inadequate percentage of children with dental sealants, and that Connecticut has still not met the objectives of national or state oral health improvement plans.  The report outlines numerous policy recommendations for stakeholders to consider and pursue. 

Among the findings:

·         15% of Connecticut’s kindergarten and third grade children need dental treatment.

·         16% of Connecticut’s kindergarten and third grade children have untreated decay.

·         28% of third grade children in Connecticut have protective dental sealants.

The report explains that “disparities in dental decay and untreated dental decay experiences can be attributed to social determinants of health, including unequal access to quality health care among specific populations in Connecticut. Social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, age and die, and include the health systems available to them. Adverse conditions result in higher levels of disease and poor health outcomes. Population groups such as Hispanic and Asian children who experienced higher levels of dental decay and untreated dental decay are among the vulnerable populations considered by CT DPH as “priority” populations.

The report makes a series of recommendations for parents, providers and policy makers.  Among the recommendations for policy makers in the state:

·         Increase community and public-sector engagement in pursuing and sustaining strategies to improve oral health outcomes for children and families, and increase capacity of and funding for dental public health services at state and local levels.

·         Promote systems to support oral examinations before the age of one, as a minimum standard of dental care, and improve and maintain access to dental insurance for all children, especially those of moderate and high risk for poor oral health.

·         Continue partnering with school districts to improve dental care access for children and provide additional resources to reach additional schools throughout the state.

·         Increase the number of dental providers in underserved areas and those participating in Connecticut’s HUSKY program (Medicaid/Children’s Health Insurance Program) and explore other ways to improve access to dental care for underserved populations in public health settings, such as SBHCs, mobile clinics, and dental therapy.

·         Allocate funding to create oral health resources for dental providers and families to provide care to children with special needs and increase the number of dental sealants provided in schools, safety-net, and private dental settings.

The report can be downloaded here.