Tag Archives: Children

The health benefits of grandparenting

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Liz Seegert

About Liz Seegert

Liz Seegert (@lseegert), is AHCJ’s topic editor on aging. Her work has appeared in NextAvenue.com, Journal of Active Aging, Cancer Today, Kaiser Health News, the Connecticut Health I-Team and other outlets. She is a senior fellow at the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement at George Washington University and co-produces the HealthCetera podcast.

Photo: minjungkim via Flickr

As a brand-new grandmother, I’m overjoyed to welcome our new baby girl into the family. Of course, I think she’s absolutely perfect. But beyond the emotional high of holding this tiny being, it turns out that research shows that grandparenting can be a boon to older adults’ health.

Grandparenting can relieve stress, improve socialization, encourage physical activity and even boost longevity. In one analysis, researchers examined data from more than 500 people ages 70 and older, who took part in the Berlin Aging Study. Continue reading →

Report: Pregnant women have harder time obtaining dental care, regardless of income

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Mary Otto

About Mary Otto

Mary Otto, a Washington, D.C.-based freelancer, is AHCJ's topic leader on oral health and the author of "Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America." She can be reached at mary@healthjournalism.org.

Photo: NIAID via Flickr

There is a shortage of state and national data on the subject, but studies suggest that women face unique barriers in obtaining dental services during pregnancy, according to a new issue brief from the nonprofit Children’s Dental Health Project (CDHP).

Experts agreed that “preventive, diagnostic, and restorative dental treatment is safe throughout pregnancy and is effective in improving and maintaining oral health.” Continue reading →

New report lays out challenges in expanding practice of dental hygienists

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Mary Otto

About Mary Otto

Mary Otto, a Washington, D.C.-based freelancer, is AHCJ's topic leader on oral health and the author of "Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America." She can be reached at mary@healthjournalism.org.

Photo: Conor Lawless via Flickr

An estimated 61 percent of low-income children — roughly 6.5 million kids — lack dental sealants that could help protect their teeth from decay, according to federal research.

School sealant programs have been shown effective in getting preventive treatments to children who might otherwise go without. Continue reading →

Connecticut cracks down on dentist for overtreating toddler

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Mary Otto

About Mary Otto

Mary Otto, a Washington, D.C.-based freelancer, is AHCJ's topic leader on oral health and the author of "Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America." She can be reached at mary@healthjournalism.org.

Photo: hinterlens via Flickr

Following a two-year investigation by state health officials, the Connecticut State Dental Commission has voted to discipline a dentist for performing unnecessary work on a toddler.

In the 2016 complaint that spurred an inquiry by the state Department of Public Health (DPH), the child’s mother said she had agreed to allow dentist Ammar Idlibi to place a crown on one of her 3-year-old daughter’s teeth. Continue reading →

United effort helps two rural Oklahoma communities reduce childhood caries

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Mary Otto

About Mary Otto

Mary Otto, a Washington, D.C.-based freelancer, is AHCJ's topic leader on oral health and the author of "Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America." She can be reached at mary@healthjournalism.org.

Photo: Carol Von Canon via Flickr

America’s tribal communities have long suffered from an abundance of oral disease problems and a shortage of dentists.

Research has shown that Native American and Alaska Native preschoolers experience tooth decay at more than four times the rate of white children. Continue reading →

Young women falling short of exercise recommendations

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Cassie Chew

About Cassie Chew

Based in Washington, D.C., Chew covers health care policy for a variety of media outlets. She has been published in Stat News, Politico, Provider Magazine, Modern Healthcare and BloombergBNA.

Photo: Peter Dutton via Flickr

Many young women in recent weeks have walked across a stage in cap and gown to accept their hard-earned high school diplomas. But recent research says the transition into adulthood comes with quickly forgetting lessons from their physical education classes.

Recent data analysis of findings from a long-running health study finds that women in their late teens and 20s are less physically active than their male counterparts, failing to meet minimum recommendations for exercise. Continue reading →