Why Early Childhood Intervention Is Important
There is nothing more important in dentistry than early intervention. Children are not healthy if their mouths aren’t healthy. Left untreated, dental disease can be intensely painful, costly and lead to other serious lifelong health complications. Our approach is one of managing a disease – well before it manifests itself in the form of a cavity. The role of physicians in prevention and management of early childhood caries is an important one. In the years ahead, healthcare providers from all perspectives will play a critical part in identification of children at the greatest risk of disease.
We believe in making the transition to manage the disease before it devastates the mouth and potentially beyond. With so much more being discovered each day connecting the mouth to the body, early intervention becomes ever more important. By encouraging parents, families and all who encounter the youngest children to ask questions about the child’s oral health alongside their total health, we will provide the answers that will lead to solutions that are effective.
The most trusted names in education and care, the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital, have joined forces to establish The Center for Pediatric Dentistry. This initiative will afford us the opportunity to develop care delivery models and solve an international crisis in children’s oral health right here in Seattle.
- The Centers for Desease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that more than 40% of children have experienced tooth decay by the time they reach kindergarten and more than half of all children have tooth decay by the second grade.
- In the US alone, Early Childhood Carries (the disease that causes cavities) affects nearly 2 million children under the age of six with roughly 300,000 experiencing significant levels. Tooth decay is the single most common chronic disease among US children today, creating a dramatic increase in school hours missed and in the number of oral health-related hospitalizations.
- In Washington State, nearly 60 percent of elementary children suffer from preventable dental decay and more than one in five suffer from rampant decay — cavities in seven or more teeth.
The Center for Pediatric Dentistry strives to improve children’s access to oral health services throughout the region by providing 40,000 patient visits annually. Since two-thirds of all Medicaid-eligible children in King County do not see a dentist, our program provides an additional option for those patients and others who require complex care, or are subject to lengthy waiting periods.
By combining health services, education, research and public policy under-one roof, The Center for Pediatric Dentistry is addressing the entire system of childhood oral health care.
