Children’s Dental Health
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Key Findings

• Dental disease is rampant among California children
• Many children in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties have cavities
• Many -- but not all -- local low-income children have dental insurance
• Dental insurance is not enough. Prevention and access matter, too
• Populations who need quality dental care have seen little progress
• State legislators are increasingly placing dental health on their agenda
• Mandating dental assessments is a starting point, not an ending point

Dental Disease Is Rampant Among California Children

More than a quarter of kindergarteners and third graders are sitting in school with untreated decay, and more than 70 percent have had cavities by third grade, according to The Dental Health Foundation's 2006 statewide oral health needs assessment. Low-income and Latino children fare the worst. Moreover, the survey found that almost three-quarters of California elementary school children have dental disease by third grade, and an estimated 40,000 children in kindergarten and third grade alone have pain or infections that require urgent dental care.