There have been dramatic improvements in America's oral health over the last 50 years, with great progress having been made in understanding and treating common oral diseases such as tooth decay and gum disease. These advances have not occurred evenly across all sectors of our population, however, particularly among low-income individuals and families.
"Far too many Americans today do not have access to oral health services. No where is this more troubling than among our nation's children," said Senator Collins. "Tooth decay is currently the single most common chronic childhood disease. It affects 50 percent of first graders and 80 percent of 17-year olds, and is five times more common than asthma and seven times more common than hay fever. The problem is most severe among children in poverty: poor children aged two to nine have twice the levels of untreated tooth decay as other children."
Senator Collins has addressed this issue before, as an original cosponsor of the Children's Dental Health Improvement Act, which she introduced last year to strengthen the oral health care safety net by increasing the dental workforce in our nation's rural and underserved communities. This legislation was included in the Health Care Safety Net Amendments Act, which has been approved by the Senate and is currently awaiting final action by the House.