SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRST 5 COMMISSIONS ADDRESS CHILDREN’S MOST UNMET HEALTH CARE NEEDFebruary 19, 2009 |
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For Immediate Release (February 19, 2009) Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties Promote Oral Health Programs Oral Health Services Threatened by State BudgetCuts "We applaud the county First 5 commissions for their investments in children's oral health programs," said Jon R. Roth, executive director of the California Dental Association Foundation. "First 5's commitment to oral health as a priority has resulted in California's children receiving critical oral health services that have not only improved the children's oral health status, but also each child's overall well being." "We look forward to First 5 continuing to focus on oral health efforts around the state," Roth said. Although tooth decay is the most common preventable illness, recent findings from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), show that one in three children between the ages of 1 and 5 years across the Southern California region, did not have access to dental insurance and a third had never visited a dentist. In fact, approximately 40 percent of young children in Riverside County and 50 percent in San Bernardino County had no history of dental services. This means that an estimated 651,534 out of 1.9 million children in Southern California are at risk for poor oral health. This is a growing problem among Southern California's young children and, when left untreated, can contribute to a wide range of problems, including poor nutrition, sub-normal growth, and unnecessary pain. And tooth decay is estimated to cause children to miss over 51 million hours of school each year. "It is unnecessary and all the more unfortunate that any child experiences pain and suffering as a result of dental disease that has not been treated or that could have been prevented," said Dr. Steven Uranga McKane, clinical director of The Children's Dental Center of Greater Los Angeles. The First 5 Southern California Alliance for Learning and Results (SCALAR) study was conducted through Davis Ja Associates along with EMT Associates and the Center for Non-Profit Management. SCALAR study results are available at: www.first5la.org/files/Oral-Health-Summary-Report.pdf About First 5 Commissions First 5 Commissions are child advocacy organizations created by California voters to invest Prop 10 tobacco tax revenues to support programs for improving the lives of children from prenatal through age 5 in California. # # # Ventura County: Robin Godfrey, First 5 Ventura County |
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