New York State Receives C For Dental Health Access

By REBECCA MADDEN

Johnson News Service

New York is average when it comes to improving dental health and its access for children, according to a recent report from the Pew Center on the States.

The state received a "C" grade because it met only half of the eight benchmarks the center set forth in measuring children's dental health needs.

One of the biggest hurdles for the state to tackle is reaching more Medicaid-enrolled children for dental services. Judith R. Overton, North Country Children's Clinic's director of dental services, said that's difficult to accomplish in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties due to families' lack of transportation to dental services.

"In 2002, the North Country Children's Clinic did dental screenings of third-graders, and one of the things we found was a lack of access to dental care," Mrs. Overton said. Dentists "are grouped in metropolitan areas, so it's difficult to recruit dentists to Northern New York because they're further away from the city."

The children's clinic has responded to that by bringing those services directly to populations of children that need them the most. Through the Watertown City and South Jefferson Central school districts, any student enrolled in the clinic's school-based health centers may receive basic and preventive dental care, as well as minor treatment.

Part of the roadblock to the state's meeting that benchmark in reaching more of the Medicaid population, Mrs. Overton said, is lack of funds for organizations to reach out to the underserved populations who need help the most.

Children who don't receive proper dental care after the first full set of teeth comes in have a chance of severe decay, abscessed teeth, infections or extraction, Mrs. Overton said.

The children's clinic also tries to reach youngsters through the sealant component of the Women, Infants and Children federal supplemental feeding program. Approximately 1,800 children in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties received that service last year.

Other issues identified in the report include the low number of high-risk schools with sealant programs, low number of residents on fluoridated community water supplies and number of primary care dental providers.

The Pew center, Washington, D.C., conducts research, analyzes states' experiences and operates initiatives in children's dental health, pre-kindergarten education, corrections and public safety, among other categories, according to its Web site.