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MONDAY, April 30 (HealthDay News) -- Most Americans are taking better care of their teeth, resulting in improved dental health, but tooth decay in baby teeth among children is increasing, according to a new report.
In fact, decay in baby teeth among 2- to 5-year-olds has increased from 24 percent to 28 percent from 1988 to 2004, the federal report found.
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In addition, a racial and ethnic divide exists when it comes to dental health.
"This report shows that while we are continuing to make strides in prevention of tooth decay, this disease clearly remains a problem for some racial and ethnic groups, many of whom have more treated and untreated tooth decay compared with other groups," Dr. Bruce A. Dye, the report's lead author, said in a prepared statement.
Dye was to present the findings Monday at the annual meeting of the American Association for Public Health Dentistry in Denver. The report, titled Trends in Oral Health Status -- United States, 1988-1994 and 1999-2004, is based on data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics
The report does highlight significant improvement in several areas. Tooth decay in permanent teeth has decreased for children, teens, and adults. And, 38 percent of children and teens aged 12 to 19 have had dental sealants, a plastic coating that protects against decay.
Yet, the report notes gaps in dental care based on race and ethnicity. For example, 31 percent of Mexican-American children ages 6 to 11 had decay in their permanent teeth, compared with 19 percent of non-Hispanic white children.
There were also income-related disparities in care. For families with incomes below the federal poverty line, 12 percent of children ages 6 to 11 had untreated tooth decay, compared with 4 percent of children from families above the poverty line.
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