Making the Connection: Pregnancy and Oral Health
Recent research indicates that efforts to support oral health can begin even before birth; just as a pregnant woman’s overall health can affect the health of her pregnancy and baby, her oral health can play a role in the occurrence of early childhood caries in her children.
Critical Services for Our Children: Integrating Mental and Oral Health into Primary Care
Grantmakers have long been interested in improving children’s access to health care. Yet, a number of services critical to children’s healthy growth and development—such as mental health and oral health services—fall outside the traditional primary care model. This fragmentation of services has contributed to access barriers and has compromised the quality of pediatric care. Growing awareness of the importance of mental health and oral health has resulted in a variety of innovative efforts to integrate these services into children’s health care.
Behind the Smile: How Funders Can Improve Oral Health
The consequences of neglecting oral health are significant. Oral disease can interfere with the ability to speak, chew, and swallow. In some cases, painful mouth conditions can result in overuse of emergency rooms and lost productivity, and contribute to low self-esteem. Oral disease, in children alone, is responsible for almost 52 million lost school hours each year.