Children’s Health Coverage
Nearly one-third of California children age 11 or younger, or 1.74 million, have not visited a dentist in the past year, according to two fact sheets from the California HealthCare Foundation.
The fact sheets, which detail the percentage of children receiving dental care by Senate and Assembly districts, show that 24% of children had never visited a dentist and that 5% had not visited a dentist in more than a year. As many as 33% of children in some Senate districts and 34% of children in some Assembly districts had not visited the dentist in the last year.
The study's author writes that all children beginning by age one should visit a dentist at least once a year to receive necessary preventive dental care. Without regular dental care, children have a higher risk of poor oral health, including higher rates of cavities, the author writes (Pourat, California HealthCare Foundation, April 2008).
CHCF publishes California Healthline.