Working to Improve Oral Health Disparities

The Possibility of Eradicating Dental Disease in Children

The DentaQuest Foundation hosted the annual Oral Health 2020 National Network Gathering in New Orleans. This year’s gathering was the biggest yet, with 250 grantees and stakeholders in attendance. 

Every year this convening gives us the opportunity to map out the progress of the national network, share best practices, problem-solve challenges around access and outreach, and advance our plan to completely eradicate dental disease for the next generation - children. This year’s convening was no exception – much of our conversation focused on the continued prevalence of dental disease in children and what we can do to eliminate this issue. 

One of our keynote speakers, Dr. Camara Jones, facilitated a fascinating conversation on racism, health disparities, and the social determinants of health and equity. Dr. Jones urged everyone in attendance to ask of their organizations, “How is racism operating here?” and to also recognize that “there is genius in all of our communities, and we need to invest in it.”

We talked about exciting progress that was being made when it comes to early childhood caries, but disparities remain that we cannot afford to ignore. According to recently-released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 77% of children reach age five without a cavity – this is a monumental achievement for which we should be very proud. 

However, that success is not evenly distributed across racial and ethnic groups. Also according to the CDC, the greatest racial and ethnic disparity among children ages 2-4 and 6-8 is seen in non-Hispanic African-American and Mexican-American children. Furthermore, non-Hispanic African-Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians and Alaska Natives generally have the poorest oral health of any racial and ethnic groups in the United States. From year to year, these disparities remain, meaning that we still have significant work ahead of us. 

While we are getting closer than ever to the Oral Health 2020 goal of eradicating dental disease in children, all children deserve access to dental care and education that will set them up for a healthy life. With that, we’re working to ensure that oral health is improved for all children, specifically addressing these gaps so that by 2020, at least 85% of children reach age 5 without a cavity.

You can learn more about Oral Health 2020 and the gathering in New Orleans by searching the hashtag #OH2020inNOLA on Twitter. 


Blog Post brought to you by the DentaQuest Foundation