(NAPSA)—Here’s information many families maycare to sink theirteeth into: Although tooth decayislargely preventable, it remains one of the most common chronicdiseasesofchildren. ‘The Problem According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly one in four children under the age of5 already hascavities, while tooth decay is four times more common than asthma amongadolescents. Making sure your children—andall children—can see a dentist goes a more likely to seek emergency room long way toward improving health treatment for dental problems than for in Ame! asthma, often because they can't see a What's more,children arefive times dentist, are uninsured or can't afford routinecare. ‘The effect of untreated caries goes far beyondoral health. Children with toothaches have more schoolabsences, cannotpay attention in school or keep up with their peers academically, and have lower standardizedtest scores. Yet when state revenues begin to decline, dentalcare is often the first thing cut from state Medicaid budgets. Restoring thelost revenuehas provento bea dif- ficult and slow task. Many people have asked their state legislators where they stand ontheissue. What You Can Do ‘The good newsis that tooth decay is preventable. To ensure good oral health for your child: + Have your childvisit a dentist for a first checkup by age1, as recommended by the American Academy ofPediatrics. + Use fluoride toothpaste for children over 2 years old. + Talk to yourchild’s dentist about dental sealants that can protect teeth from. decay. To help other children avoid cavi- ties, you can join thelargest children’s oral health charitable program in the US., (GKAS). In thepast 15 years,it’s reached more than 5.5 million children thanks to more than 500,000 volunteers at thousands of sites. The American Dental Association Foundation provides a toolkit of guidelines and materials, thanks to corpo- rate sponsors such as Henry Schein—a worldwidedistributor of medical, dental andveterinary supplies including vac- cines, pharmaceuticals, financial services and equipment—sodentists can provide free oral health education, screenings, and preventive andrestorative services at 1,300 unique GKASeventsaround the country. Many GKASeventstake place on February 3, National Day, and each eventis as unique as the volunteers who organize them, ranging from dental team thatsees patients, to a hygienist whoprovidesoral health education in a school, to large-scale eventsthattreat hundredsofchildren at a community event. Volunteers are the heart of GKAS. ‘Thesuccess ofthe program is the result ofthe strong commitmentthese “Smile Champions” show to making a difference in their communities. WhatElse Is Being Done Moreneedsto be doneto help alleviate thesilent epidemic of tooth decay andto create awareness aboutthe future ofchildren’s oralhealth in this country. Research has shownthat every dol- lar spenton preventive dental care could save a patient as much as $50in restorative and emergencytreatments. To help, the program is also working on an evidence-based approach to stop cavities and other oral health issues. The model can be replicated nationwide to reducethe incidence ofcavities and other oral health issuesforall children. Learn More For further facts on dental health andhow you can volunteer, donate, and participate in GKASevents, visit www. adafoundation.org/gkas or call 1-844490-GKAS.
