MA Oral Health Data
Despite the fact that Massachusetts has made great strides in oral health, there is still much to do. 
Dental disease is common, costly, and preventable.
- Dental decay is the most common childhood disease, four times more common than asthma i.
- Over half of MA children ages 6-8 have cavitiesii while more than one-quarter of them ages 2-4 have cavities. ii
- 15% of kids ages 2-4 have untreated tooth decay. ii
- 37% of Head Start kids had decay in 2005 while the national average was only 5%. iii
…and there are huge socioeconomic health disparities…
- 30% of adults with annual incomes less than $25,000 are missing 6 or more teeth. ii
- Adults with less education suffer greater oral health disparities. Less than 20% of adults (ages 25-44) with at least a college degree suffered some tooth loss. While almost 50% of adults with only a high school diploma experienced tooth loss.iii
- Black and Hispanic adults experience far greater tooth loss than White adults.vii
- Black children in MA have a higher percentage of cavities than those nationally.iii
The high cost of dental care impacts everyone….
- There are more than 2 million visits every year to hospital emergency rooms for tooth pain and visits to the ER for tooth pain are costly, ranging from $400 to $1,500.iv These costs are paid for by taxpayers.
Community Water Fluoridation
- Community water fluoridation, a safe, effective, and cost efficient preventive strategy, prevents tooth decay and is one of very few public health prevention measures that offer significant cost savings to almost all communities.v
- It reaches everyone in the community regardless of their ability to access dental care.
- In 2009, 42% of communities in Massachusetts that could be fluoridated were not.iii
- Only 59% of MA residents benefit from water fluoridation making MA 36th in the nation.iii
- In 1951, the first three Massachusetts communities to fluoridate their water were Danvers, Templeton and Middleton.vi
School-based dental care
- Dental sealants are known to significantly reduce dental decay. The combination of fluoride and sealants can make these children cavity free.
- In 2006, the most recent year for which there is data, only 8% of schools in MA had a school-based dental health program such as sealants or fluoride rinse.iii
- In 2007, children who were poor, without a dentist, and an ethnic minority were less likely to receive dental sealants.ii
References
