The University of Kentucky College of Dentistry's 2023 Kentucky Early Learners' Oral Health Surveillance Project survey found dental decay rates for Kentucky children ages 2 through 5 are significantly higher than the national average. The survey, funded by the Kentucky Department of Public Health, evaluated the prevalence of dental decay and treatment needs among children and identified populations most at-risk in the Commonwealth. This is one of the largest state-level oral health surveys of children in Pre-K and Head Start programs ever conducted.
Pamela Stein, D.M.D.
, M.P.H.
, a professor in the Division of Public Health Dentistry, served as a co-investigator on the surveillance project. The oral health of young children is essential to health equity as it not only sets the trajectory for oral health across the lifespan but also influences an individual's overall health and development." Pamela Stein, D.
M.D., M.
P.H., Professor, Division of Public Health Dentistry, University of Kentucky Project team members screened 6,660 kids across 106 Kentucky counties.
Local dental hygienists were hired to serve as screeners and coordinate project efforts at the regional levels. Screeners contacted daycares and Head Start programs in their area. If the daycare or Head Start facilities agreed, screenings were scheduled for the children.
The screeners were trained to standardize their identification of treated decay (cavities that already had fillings) and untreated decay. If a child was.
