National Children's Dental Health Month

February 2016


February is National Children’s Dental Health Month, which makes it the perfect time to highlight children’s dental health in North Dakota.
 
Dental care is the most common unmet health need in children, according to the study “The Unmet Health Needs of America’s Children.” In North Dakota, children can have a hard time accessing regular dental care if they live in rural areas, if they are enrolled in Medicaid or if they are Native American.
 
Here are some startling statistics about children’s dental health in North Dakota:

• Rural third-graders have significantly worse oral health than their urban peers.
• 70% of children enrolled in Medicaid did not see a dentist in 2014 because nearly half of ND dentists don’t accept Medicaid. North Dakota even has one of the highest Medicaid reimbursement rates in the nation.
• Native American children had more than twice the need for treatment than their non-Native peers.

 
The Grand Forks Herald recently wrote a story about North Dakota’s issue with dental access, specifically in the northeastern part of the state. Please, take a minute to review and share that article. And as always, you can read the rest of the media coverage about this issue on our website.
 
Thanks for reading!
 
 
Distributing dentists: Need for ND dentists greatest in rural areas
By John Hageman − Grand Forks Herald
 
Facing a three-month wait to get fillings at another dental practice, Carolyn Reigstad found herself at Aspen Dental in Grand Forks. Read more.