May 20, 2014 — This year more than 181 million Americans won’t visit a dentist, nearly half of people older than 30 suffer from some form of periodontal disease, and about 1 in 4 children younger than age 5 already has caries, according to the ADA. More than 2.1 million people showed up in U.S. emergency rooms (ERs) with dental pain in 2010, double the number from a decade ago.
While the national healthcare debate has focused on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, other issues such as access to dental care were pushed aside. In response, the ADA created Action for Dental Health (ADH), a nationwide, community-based movement and grassroots effort to address barriers to dental health by solving today’s problems through direct help and creating sustainable solutions that provide the best quality of care. The ADH has taken root in every state, according to the ADA.
ADA releases dental report to Congress