The 2007 death of a Prince George's County boy because of an untreated dental abscess was a tragic reminder of the connection between oral health and overall health.
Yet dental care remains the most common unmet health-care need of children in the United States. Tooth decay is five times as likely to be found in children as is asthma, which, like most common illnesses, is covered by health insurance. But at least 26 million children lack dental coverage, more than twice as many as lack medical insurance, according to federal health statistics.
