San Gabriel Valley Foundation for Dental Health

There are clear socioeconomic disparities in the treatment of oral health problems. The primary reason is limited or nonexistent dental care in their communities and lack of insurance. The Dental Health Foundation reports that California lags behind the rest of the nation in treating children with dental disease. Untreated tooth decay is twice as high in children between the ages of 6 to 8 when compared to those in the age bracket nationwide
More than half of all school-age children in California have untreated tooth decay
Preschoolers in Head Start programs had decay rates that on average were 164 percent higher than those of children in other preschool settings
A vast majority of children and teenagers come from families with no dental insurance
It is estimated that children miss 52 million hours of school each year due to tooth decay and other dental problems
Clinics like ours are working hard every day to deal with these issues. The San Gabriel Valley Foundation for Dental Health not only treats patients, but also provides a variety of preventive dental care and education to avoid further decay. The percentages below show that our dentists and hygienists are cutting a clear path to reducing the number of cavities, infection and gum disease. Of those children returning to the clinic for dental exams this fiscal year:

95% had no new decay or disease
4% needed one to two restorative-type treatments
1% required more than two dental procedures
These figures prove that with regular dental exams and education, we can make a difference for the future of our children’s dental health.