Nearly half of Colorado’s 1.2 million children start kindergarten with painful cavities due to tooth decay – a common, chronic childhood disease that is almost entirely preventable. The Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation launched its Brush With Me campaign this April to tackle one of Governor Hickenlooper’s winnable battles in the state.
The campaign will teach the importance of practicing good dental health habits as a family to prevent cavities in Colorado children.
Tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood disease in Colorado, with 20% of the population – typically families of low socioeconomic status – experiencing 80% of all dental disease. In fact, nationally 1 in 4 Caucasian children aged 6 to 8 suffer from untreated decay, while a full 40% of Mexican-American children live with untreated tooth decay.
• Tooth decay is 5 times more common than asthma
• 40% of children have their first cavity by age 4
• In 2012, 3,300 children visited the operating room at Children’s Hospital Colorado for dental surgery
• More than 70% of 3-year-olds seen at Denver Health have dental disease – an average mouth has 11 cavities
• Nearly 8 million hours of school are lost annually due to oral pain
The Brush With Me campaign is focused on teaching parents and caregivers how to improve oral health for the family, as well as targeting healthcare and education to help make children’s dental health a community priority.