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Advocacy
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Advocacy
| Mission: The Children's Dental Health Project advances policies that improve children's access to oral health. |
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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.
CDHP Areas of Advocacy
- Financing efforts focus on Medicaid, SCHIP, private insurance, and public health funding through the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant to States ("Title V") and government grant programs.
- Prevention efforts encourage investments in risk-based care, evidence-based interventions, creative approaches to early care, public education, and support for prevention research, programs, and coverage.
- Safety-net efforts advance comprehensive care for young, low-income, adolescents, and special needs children through alternative venues commonly used by vulnerable populations.
- Workforce efforts encourage engagement of all healthcare providers who see young, low-income, adolescents and special needs children, promote diversity, and support development of greater cultural competencies.
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