According to medical research, three quarters of California elementary school students (aged six to ten) have decayed teeth and do not treat them.
Staff of the charitable organization The oral health advocacy group, which conducted the survey and research, are concerned that bad and decayed teeth are seen in Latino children from poor families who cannot afford dentist services, and from poorly educated families where taking care of health and beauty is not considered the most important thing in life. “It is absolutely clear that this is a problem of low-income people and ethnic minorities. In wealthy families we also see a large percentage of children suffering from caries and other dental problems, but thanks to good insurance, parents still take children to the dentist and carry out dental treatment,” said Vini Grossman, head of the organization, commenting on the results of the survey.
In California, about 200 schools were examined during the year. According to the study, caries was detected in 750 thousand young Californians, 138 thousand schoolchildren need urgent dental care, and 5% of respondents have never visited a dentist in their lives. Yet according to the rules of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, caring parents should first show their child to a dentist at one year old. The worst situation with teeth is in the Spanish-speaking diaspora: 72% of small patients have caries, and 33% have never treated it. At the same time, 48% of white schoolchildren have teeth spoiled by caries, and 20% do not rush to the doctor.
Doctor Santoz Cortez, president of the California Society of Pediatric Dentistry, believes that such data are the result of a “lack of education” among Latino parents. Not afraid of accusations of political incorrectness, he emphasized: “I myself, as a Latino, can state that many immigrant parents from Latin America mistakenly believe that in childhood it is not at all necessary to deal with teeth; these are only baby teeth, they will fall out, so why spend time and money on them.” In his opinion, it is necessary to conduct explanatory work among such parents: visually show them that diseased teeth, even baby teeth, can in the future lead to disruption of the immune system, heart function, and also to frequent respiratory diseases.
Moreover, in the States, healthy and beautiful teeth are not only a matter of hygiene, but also a guarantee of a successful career. All other things being equal, well-polished resumes, sufficient work experience and excellent recommendation letters, an employer will choose a candidate with a typical “American smile” rather than an applicant with bad teeth. There is even a joke that a person with ugly teeth will never become president of the country.
It is not for nothing that moms and dads who want their child to succeed in life turn to the services of a pediatric orthodontist: they correct the bite and straighten teeth. Such a cosmetic service is not cheap (from a thousand dollars) and, as a rule, is not covered by insurance because it is considered cosmetic rather than medically necessary.