Each February the American Dental Association sponsors National Children’s Dental Health Month. This month is a perfect opportunity for the Kentucky Oral Health Coalition, a project of Kentucky Youth Advocates, to share some information on children’s oral health, specifically around nutrition, dental sealants, fluoride varnish, and services for children with special needs. We will highlight one of these topics each week in February. We hope to pass on valuable information for parents and those who care for young children. [...]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a report that compared parent-reported children’s oral health status and receipt of preventive dental visits across the United States between 2003 and 2011/2012. It was interesting to look at this report and see what improvements have been made, where we have room for growth, and where Kentucky ranks. The report includes the following national results: In 2003, 67.7 percent of parents reported that their children had very good [...]

The last eight months have been eventful for the Kentucky Oral Health Coalition, which is a project of Kentucky Youth Advocates. In May we received the Oral Health 2014 DentaQuest planning grant and began the groundwork for developing a statewide oral health literacy campaign by conducting focus groups across the state, collecting information from oral health providers, and holding four stakeholder meetings. We traveled around the state and visited with parents in Campbell, Graves, Hopkins, Jefferson, Knott, Owen, [...]

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and each year every magazine and morning talk show gives advice on what foods you should and should not eat to avoid packing on the pounds. One realm of health that is equally as important but often overlooked is oral health. Thanksgiving is about spending time with friends and family but for many, the real focus is on the food. It’s the one day where people feel like they have a [...]

A survey sponsored by the Children’s Dental Health Project found that most Americans are unaware that children’s dental services are covered under the 10 essential health benefits in the Affordable Care Act. According to the survey, 33% of Americans say that either they or a family member are currently suffering from dental problems that need to be addressed. Some barriers that prevent individuals from getting the care they need are out-of-pocket expenses and lack of insurance coverage. In 2009, [...]

"I'm 44 and I more want to take care of my kid's teeth and spend money on my kid's teeth. So I get mine pulled and suffer the consequences so that he can have nice teeth." - Kentucky Mom "The first dental visit we did she was 5 and had 8 cavities. It was a big ordeal. My baby teeth rotted out and I am a firm believer if you don't take care of baby [...]