Study: Toothache More Common Among Minority and Special Needs Children

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry says that frequent consumption of liquids containing fermentable carbohydrates (e.g., juice, milk, formula, soda) increases the risk of dental caries due to prolonged contact between sugars in the liquid and cariogenic bacteria on the teeth

Well, DUH. Education, diet and the ability to pay for early childhood dental care are all factors that hurt poor children.

Poor, minority and special needs children are more likely to be affected by toothache, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Toothache is a source of chronic and often severe pain that interferes with a child’s ability to play, eat and pay attention in school,” the authors write as background information in the study. The authors also note that “the most common cause of toothache is dental decay” and the “process of dental decay is one that optimally would be prevented or, at the very least, identified early and then arrested through provision of regular professional dental care. However, for some U.S. children, including those who are Medicaid-insured, access to preventive and restorative dental care is more difficult.”

So, what is the remedy?

Free dental care ala ObamaCare?

More $ millions spent by the government on public health dentistry and dental health education?

Obviously, those remedies are infeasible or have been ineffective.

How about personal responsibility, education and an enforceable federal immigration policy for a start?