Why should we advocate for children's oral health? Promoting oral health for children, especially children under the age of three, is key to preventing chronic oral disease. Although most American's do not view oral disease as a disease similar to diabetes or heart disease, oral disease is the number one childhood chronic condition - five times more common than asthma and seven time more common than hay fever. Dispelling the myth that oral health is strictly a cosmetic issue is important to children's future, especially to spare them from a life-long struggle with chronic disease and pain. Addressing oral health as part of a broader health policy or children's agenda allows for a greater focus on understanding and influencing the infrastructure or systems that affects many, not just one individual at a time.
http://www.cdhp.org/
http://www.cdhp.org/
