Dental Health

When you consider some of the common chronic medical conditions that children suffer, what do you think of? Obesity? Autism? Asthma? ADHD? All of those are common and important medical conditions that parents are rightfully concerned about across the country. But what about cavities?  Cavities — also called childhood caries or tooth decay — are one of the most common chronic diseases affecting American children. Just how common? According to the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five kids between the age of five and 11 have at least one untreated decayed tooth. Kids between the age of five and 19 were twice as likely to have cavities than kids from higher-income households. These facts are more important than you might realize. Cavities cause pain and infections that can interfere with your kids eating, speaking, learning and playing. One October 2016 study found that children with poor oral health also did more poorly at school and missed more classroom