Florida Kids Face Dental Crisis

Herald-Tribune

By: Maggie Clark

Florida is ranked 50 out of 51 states in the number of children that are getting the necessary and preventive dental care services, even though across the nations these numbers have been going up for most sates. Therefore, children are facing lots of dental problems, especially those coming from low-income families. This is in part due to the fact that only a few dentists are willing to accept Medicaid insurance in Florida.

“Florida has taken the first step to improving quality in Medicaid by measuring and reporting on key quality indicators, like the number of children receiving a preventive dental visit annually,” said Kelly Whitener, associate professor at the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. “But, Florida’s data reflects that there is significant room for improvement. It would be our hope that by 2021, children in Florida would be receiving preventive dental services at a rate well above the 2014 national average.”

Read more here

Latest