Early Childhood Dental Care

Our nation is in the midst of an oral health crisis and its primary victims are children. Currently, the most widespread childhood disease is cavities. Oral disease impacts the lives of children every day, impairing their ability to learn in school due to needless pain, contributing to other illnesses, and impeding their long term development.

In today's economy, many families cannot afford dental care and their children are suffering. The Institute for Oral Health calls on the health care community to make paradigm shifts in our dental care system to stem this rising oral health crisis.

In 2006, IOH hosted their first annual national conference in Seattle, WA focused on this theme. Click here for the conference WHITEPAPER>>

"Fixing a child's teeth improves their self-esteem and makes them smile. Those smiles create the ability to move a child to a higher performance and lead more productive lives."

-- Ron Sims
Former King County Executive, WA

An estimated 51 million school hours are missed annually because of health problems affecting the mouth.

-- Surgeon General's Report Oral Health in America, 2000