Virginia Health Care Foundation

These resources provide a clear picture of oral health and coverage in Virginia, compared to other states. Virginia communities and dental providers may find this onformation helpful in designing effective oral health programs and solutions.

Virginia Dental Highlights:

• 3.8 million Virginians have no dental insurance.
• 41% of Virginia localities are Dental Professional Shortage Areas.
• 62 Virginia localities have no dental safety net provider.
• Of the 73 Virginia localities that do have a community dental provider, in many cases it’s only offered on a part-time basis.
• The new Health Reform Law does not provide for oral health care for adults.

Quick Statistics: Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General

• There are clear links between chronic oral infections and other health problems including diabetes, heart disease and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
• People with periodontal disease are 1.5-to-2 times more likely to suffer a fatal heart attack and nearly three times more likely to suffer a stroke.
• Even though dental caries (tooth decay) is largely preventable, it remains the most common chronic disease of children aged 5 to 17 years — four times more common than asthma.
• For every child without medical insurance there are 2.6 children without dental insurance.
• Dental disease results in 250,000 lost school hours each year.
• Chronic oral infections can foster the development of clogged arteries and blood clots.
• Periodontitis can make diabetes worse.  Diabetic patients with severe periodontitis have greater difficulty maintaining normal blood sugar levels.
• A thorough oral examination can detect tooth decay as well as signs of nutritional deficiencies, systemic diseases, immune disorders, injuries and some cancers.
• Oral health is integral to general health.

Oral Health:

How Oral Health Affects Overall Health This compilation of statistics demonstrates the strong link between periodontal disease and serious health conditions ranging from diabetes to heart disease.

Oral Health of Children: Portrait of the Nation/Virginia This 2005 dataset reports nationwide and state-level “percent of children who received preventive dental care in the past 12 months” as well as “percent of children with teeth in excellent or very good condition.” Such statistics are broken up by age, poverty level, ethnicity, and gender.

Virginia Atlas of Community Health This database allows the user to create state, county, and zip code reports for community health. Reports are available for two periods of time: 2000-2004 and 2004-2005.

Oral Health News*Bytes The Children’s Dental Health Project has an extensive database of national and state-specific media reports on children’s oral health and dental care.

Virginia Dept. of Health: Division of Health Statistics

National Center for Health Statistics

Virginia Free & Reduced Lunch Demographic Info

Dental Coverage:

Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) by state and county The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration determines which localities, demographics, or facilities are lacking in primary medical care, dental, or mental health providers.

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Chartbook This chartbook presents data from the 1996 and 2004 MEPS on national dental use and dental coverage, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Other states:

Dental Health and Access to Care among Rural Children:A National and State Portrait This executive summary from the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center examines dental health status, use of preventive services and dental insurance among rural and urban children and compares the dental health status of minority and non-minority children.

“Mommy, It Hurts to Chew” The California Smile Survey – An Oral Health Assessment of California’s Kindergarten and 3^rd Grade Children.