GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Kent County underwent a dental checkup recently, and the results were not good.
The county is experiencing an oral health crisis, according to the Kent County Oral Health Exam, a report released Thursday, Nov. 7, by a coalition of health care and community leaders. Thousands of adults and children go without basic oral health care, such as oral hygiene, routine cleaning, sealants and early treatment of cavities and gum disease.
"We often see the toll of untreated oral health issues in our hospitals,” said Dr. Edward Cox, co-chairman of the Kent County Oral Health Coalition. "Lack of access to less expensive preventive care results in costly visits to emergency departments."
Here are a few of the findings from the report:
• The county ranks last in the state for dental visits for 1-year-olds on Medicaid, with only .2 percent of the children seeing a dentist before their second birthday.
• 26 percent of adults have not seen a dentist in the past year; that includes 48 percent of those without dental insurance
• 26 percent of those surveyed said they have untreated oral health issues.
• The supply of dentists serving low-income patients meets only 29 percent of the need in the county and 55 percent of the need in the city of Grand Rapids.
• There were an estimated 7,667 visits to the emergency department for preventable dental conditions in 2011.
“The great, great majority of dental disease is preventable,” said Dr. Colette Smiley, a dentist and co-chairwoman of the coalition. “When you consider that, our efforts and our resources are going to focus on prevention, on the education of community members and on improving oral health literacy.”
The coalition, formed in 2011 and housed by First Steps, includes dentists and representatives of the health department, hospitals and social service agencies.
“We came together to address access to care for children. Very quickly, we realized you cannot improve a child’s oral health without improving the adults’ oral health, as well,” Smiley said. “It quickly transitioned to an organization focused on oral health of the greater community.”
To assess the state of oral health locally, the group conducted three surveys and researched state and national data.
Now, the group is focused on addressing two areas of concern: access to dental care and education. It has been involved in efforts to provide dental care to older adults at Grand Rapids Community College and to create a dental clinic in Kentwood. A partnership between the county and nonprofit Michigan Community Dental Clinics plans to open the clinic in the former library building at 4700 Kalamazoo Ave. SE.
“We want to let this community know this is attainable. Yes, you can have good oral health,” Smiley said. “Dental disease is preventable, and here are the tools that you need for yourself and your family to have good oral health for a lifetime.”