Adding Dental Care To Medical Visits Can Help Colorado’s Children.

Dr. Kathryn Hart, a pediatric dentist and director of the NYU AEGD Residency Program at Marillac Dental Clinic, wrote in the Grand Junction (CO) Daily Sentinel (7/3) that providing dental services during regular medical visits will help curb Colorado’s “silent epidemic.” According to the CDC, cavities are “the most common chronic illness among U.S. children.” One in seven Colorado kindergartners has untreated cavities, and “eight of Colorado’s 64 counties are classified as dental deserts, meaning they do not have a dentist providing oral health services.” Hart said a grant the Marillac Clinic received from Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation will help fix these disparities. The clinic has hired a registered dental hygienists thanks to the grant, who serves as an “integrated member of the medical care team” who provides “additional services including cleanings, fluoride varnish, sealants and/or x-rays.”