Eric Eyre, Health Reporter, The Charleston Gazette
304-348-4869 ericeyre@wvgazette.com
CDC’s main oral health site: Detailed info (state and county level) on fluoridation, state oral health programs, National Center for Health Statistics study.
BRFSS state-by-state data (National Oral Health Surveillance System) on total tooth loss, “lost six or more teeth” (broken down by age category), dental visits, teeth cleanings, kids’ dental sealants and untreated tooth decay (not all states report.)
List of Medicaid dental contacts by state (Nov. 2011). Get data on Medicaid spending by procedure. How much is spent on preventive measures compared to pulling teeth?
Medicaid’s Early Periodic Screening tables provide state-by-state information on the total Medicaid-eligible children who have received any dental services and preventive dental services by year.
Oral Health America‘s web site has a variety of reports that give grades to states on a variety of dental health indicators.
Children’s Dental Health Project: Everything and anything you want to know about children’s oral health. Follows national and state legislation. Very media friendly. Call Meg Booth first.
Sources:
Dr. Burt Edelstein
Chairman, Children’s Dental Health Project
Columbia Univ. School of Dentistry
bedelsten@cdhp.org
202-905-4498
He knows just about every dental director in every state in the U.S. Also knows which states are doing well, and not so well.
Dr. Dan Brody
Dentist, Valley Health Center
Fort Gay, WV
dbrody@valleyhealth.org
304-648-5433
Hands-on, in the trenches, works at dental clinic for poor in southern West Virginia. Sees the worst of the worst in the U.S. See Brody’s presentation from the Rural Health Journalism Workshop.
Greg Folse
former Louisiana State Dental Director
gfolsedds@aol.com
337-662-2222
Foremost expert on rural elderly oral health in the nation. Still travels to nursing homes to help poor older adults.
Dr. Chester Douglass (denture expert)
Harvard School of Public Health
617-432-1455
chester_douglass@hsdm.harvard.edu
