The Institute Research Finds Significant Disparities in the Status of Children's Oral Healthcare Among Racial, Ethnic and Socioeconomic Groups
A 2007 study by the Institute found one out of ten Black, Hispanic and low income children in the third grade is suffering from pain in his teeth and mouth. More than 60 percent of third grade children from low-income families suffer from dental decay compared to 33 percent of children from higher income families. Further, 58 percent of Hispanic third graders and 51 percent of Black third graders suffer from dental decay versus 36 percent of white third grade children.
The oral health information about kindergarten, third-grade, and sixth-grade school children was obtained through an open-mouth oral health screening survey. The research was conducted by the Institute in collaboration with the New England research Institutes (NERI) in association with the Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine. Funding was provided by Delta Dental of Massachusetts.
In continuing research, oral health information about adults is being obtained through a telephone survey. This data will be used in support of several essential oral health activities, including:
- Monitoring oral health status to identify community oral health problems,
- Informing, educating, and empowering people about oral health issues,
- Mobilizing community partnerships to identify and solve oral health problems,
- Developing policies and plans that support individual and community oral health efforts,
- Linking people to needed personal health services and assuring the provision of health care when otherwise unavailable, and
- Evaluating the effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based oral health services.
The assessment of children was completed over the course of one year. A full report of the findings, The Oral Health of Massachusetts Children, was released at the State House in Boston in January 2008.
