Ongoing reforms of the dental industry are likely to have an effect on the benefits market, but employers are still keen to offer dental plans to their workforces, says Tynan Barton

A few years ago tabloids raged about long queues to obtain a place with an National Health Service (NHS) dentist and ran scare stories on the DIY treatment people were inflicting on themselves. However, figures released in March from The Health and Social care Information Centre show a minor improvement to the number of patients now seen by NHS dentists – up 0.7% over the previous 24 months; now at 55.1% of the population.

This can be attributed to changes introduced by the last government, which included the 2006 reforms aimed at improving patient access to NHS dentistry services and simplifying payment for dental treatment. Primary care trusts (PCTs) were also put in charge of commissioning local dental services and deciding where to locate new services. The independent Steele review, published in June 2009, then sought to ensure widespread changes were made to NHS dental contracts in order to increase access to dental services and improve service quality.

However, this year’s change of government and the announcement of budget cuts have raised doubts over the direction of dental policy. A key concern for the industry is that PCTs will be free to allocate funds anywhere they like.

Morag Peterson, product manager at Cigna Healthcare, says: “It is possible dentistry will take a lower priority when it comes to how they allocate that money. The new government is going to take little control and it is going to be up to the PCTs, so it is going to vary by postcodes as to how that money is spent.”

Product design

All these changes could impact on the dental benefits market, particularly in terms of product design. James Glover, corporate sales and marketing director at Simplyhealth, says: “There is a state of anticipation, of waiting to find out what exactly the changes are going to be, if any, how the market should respond to that, and how, as a consequence, employee benefits geared towards accessing dental treatment should be designed.”

The changes may result in more dentists choosing to go private, further limiting access to NHS dental services. This could lead to an increase in the number of employers offering dental benefits to staff. Chuck Misasi, senior vice president at dental network provider Munroe Sutton, says: “The trend is going to be that employers will continue to seek out dental benefits – cash plans and insurances – because more and more people are having trouble finding an NHS dentist.”

There are two main types of dental benefit that employers can offer their staff: dental cover within a health cash plan and dental insurance. The former provides money back on everyday dental bills up to an annual limit, while dental insurance offers more comprehensive cover.

At their most basic level, all dental benefits include routine check-ups and treatment, accident and injury cover, and cover accessing NHS and private treatment. These basics are typically subject to a fixed annual monetary limit, which will vary depending on the type of plan offered.

Over the past few years, the dental benefits market has been relatively flat. Pam Whelan, corporate sales manager at Denplan, says: “The awareness and appreciation of what a dental plan brings to a benefits package has not diminished. Employers that were looking to implement a scheme may have pushed it back, but nobody has been turned off from moving forward with plans that had already been made. It is not recession-proof but, equally, we have not seen as big an impact on the business as previously anticipated.”

Lara Rendell, marketing manager at Health Shield, agrees that dental plans are still popular. “There has been an increase in the call to employers to look after staff and their health and wellbeing,” she says. “They have always been keen to provide dental as a benefit, but, if anything, I think there has been an increase in them wanting to help employees through these difficult times.”

Improved morale

In Simplyhealth’s Annual dental research, published in March 2010, 67% of respondents said dental benefits improved staff morale and 66% said they reduced sickness absence. A further 74% said it was the responsibility of the organisation to look after its workforce’s oral health.

Being seen to care about employees’ wellbeing by offering dental perks can also help an employer become an employer of choice. Cigna’s Peterson says: “Employees’ needs are going to increase, so it is going to be seen as more of a recruitment and retention benefit. People are going to be struggling to get the dental care they need, and there is an opportunity here for the employer to meet that need.”

To help meet this demand, providers have continued to bring new products to market. For example, in April, Bupa launched a new flexible dental plan offering five benefit levels. Premiums start at pound 3.51 a month.

Cost remains an issue for many employers in the current economic climate. Offering dental benefits through health cash plans is a popular choice because of the ease of implementation and the low cost.

Dental cover can also be included in private medical insurance (PMI) schemes, although this can be more expensive. Denplan’s Whelan says: “Employers recognise that dental is an integral part of employee wellbeing and complements the existing PMI offering. Typically, an organisation that is committed to improving employee wellbeing will look at providing dental benefits in addition to PMI.”

The trend of offering dental through flexible benefits is still gaining popularity among employers as they recognise it as a way to offer dental benefits in a difficult economic climate while controlling the cost to the organisation.

According to Michelle Bishop, business development manager at National Dental Plan, employers that are planning to roll out such schemes typically have a long-term focus. “In some cases, you will have people opt for voluntary arrangements in the first place, in order to prepare to go into a flexible benefits arrangement, so they can provide the benefit as soon as possible,” she says.

Focus on facts

What are dental benefits?

Dental benefits allow employees to claim back part, or all, of the cost of dental treatment. They can be provided through a health cash plan or as an insurance product. The level of cover can vary, ranging from accident and emergency treatment to treatment for cancer.

What are the origins?

Dental insurance products first appeared in the UK during the 1980s. However, these were preceded by dental cover made available though a health cash plan.

Where can employers get more information and advice?

View articles on health benefits: employeebenefits.co.uk/benefits/healthcare-wellbeing.html

Nuts and bolts

What are the costs involved?

Costs vary depending on the level of cover required, the way a scheme is funded and the number of employees covered. Accident and emergency dental cover can cost from pound 3 a month per employee. The average cost of dental insurance is approximately pound 10 to pound 15 a month per employee.

What are the legal implications?

There are no legal implications in offering staff dental perks.

What are the tax implications?

Dental perks are classed as a benefit in kind, so staff are liable for tax and national insurance.

In practice

What is the annual spend?

According to Laing and Buisson, the spend on employer-paid dental insurance in 2009 was pound 42.3m. The total dental insurance market is worth pound 75.9m.

Which providers have the biggest market share?

Market commentators say Denplan and Cigna Healthcare are dominant players. Other providers include: Aviva, Axa PPP Healthcare, BHSF, Bupa, Cigna Healthcare, Dencover, Denplan, Health Shield, HSF, Medicash, Munroe Sutton, National Dental Plan, National Friendly, Simplyhealth, Standard Life, Westfield Health and WPA.

Which have increased their share?

There are no figures available, but Simplyhealth continues to increase its presence in the market.

As much as we might hope to buy coverage in a pinch, insurance companies are smarter than that. They might cover exams and X-rays immediately, but fillings and oral surgery usually require a one- to two-year wait.

Instead, the reader bought into a discount network and saved about $800 after purchasing an individual membership for $100 a year. The waiting period before her benefits kicked in? Three days.

It’s called a discount dental plan and it’s similar to buying a membership at Costco or Sam’s Club. For the price of your annual membership, you get the benefit of paying lower prices on the products or services offered.

The dentists who participate in the program agree to accept a discounted fee from the plan as payment in full for their services. For example, a white filling is typically $173, but discount plan members pay $51 to $116, depending on the plan. A crown is typically $1,200, but members pay $473 to $1,000.

Annual membership fees range from $80 to $160 for an individual and $130 to $200 for a family.

One of the best ways to shop for a plan is at www.dentalplans.com. It has aggregated plans from more than 30 companies, including Aetna and Cigna. After putting in a ZIP code, you can find dentists in your area who accept the plans and what the discounted rates are for fillings, crowns, root canals and dentures.

Most people have never heard of the discount plans, probably because nearly 70 percent of Minnesotans have dental insurance, said Loren Hanson, director of marketplace activities at the Minnesota Dental Association in Minneapolis.

But even those with insurance might want to consider a dental plan if they have some unexpected big bills. Dental insurance typically has a maximum benefit per year of $1,000 to $1,200. Anyone who has already met the annual maximum and develops a new toothache is unlikely to wait until January to get it fixed.

Hanson said the MDA has had few complaints about the discount dental plans but says many patients will find that their dentist doesn’t offer the discounts. About 10 percent of dentists in the Twin Cities offer them, he said.

Dental plans have a 30-day cancellation policy and no waiting periods, deductibles or maximums. Orthodontia and cosmetic procedures are included in some plans. DentalPlans.com is offering a 10 percent discount with the code “July10,” but when I called several months ago I was offered a 20 percent discount after I balked about joining. Call 1-888-632-5353 or visit the website.

Dental implants already hold a substantial 18% share of the global dental device market, and are also expected to have one of the highest growth rates amongst all dental device submarkets. This is primarily because dental implants offer an effective treatment for edentulism and because of the rising demand for cosmetic dentistry worldwide across all age groups.

The global dental implants market is expected to grow from $3.2 billion in 2010 to $4.2 billion in 2015 at a CAGR of 6% from 2010 to 2015. Europe currently forms the world’s largest market for dental implants with a 42% market share, and is also expected to have the highest CAGR, 7.0%, from 2010 to 2015.

While the lack of consumer awareness in developing economies may hinder market growth, industry players still have immense growth opportunities as merely 2% to 3% of the global edentulous population has already received dental implant treatment so far. The aging baby-boomer population in developed nations offers an especially high-growth opportunity, as this consumer segment is characterized by high disposable income, and also by an increased need for dental care due to longer life expectancy.

Global Dental Implants Market Report:

The report segments the Global Dental Implants Market based on:

– Dental Implants Market by Procedure

– Dental Implants Market by Material

This report on Global Dental Implants Market analyzes the market dynamics exclusively from the industry point of view. The report aims at providing a two-dimensional picture of the market by focusing on all aspects of the dental implants market by reporting the key trends, which are further analyzed at the micro market levels.

Each segment of the report will provide market tables, drivers, restraints and opportunities along with the key players and competitive landscape. This report will also provide more than 35 market tables for various geographic regions covering the sub-segments and micro-markets. In addition, the report provides 30 company profiles for dental implants manufacturers, etc.

Comprehensive market analysis for the following sectors:

Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, Semiconductor and Electronics, Energy and Power Supplies, Food and Beverages, Chemicals, Advanced Materials, Industrial Automation, and Telecom and IT. We also analyze retailers and super-retailers, technology providers, and research and development (R&D) companies.

Key Questions Answered:

– Which are the high-growth segments/cash cows and how is the market segmented in terms of materials and procedure?

– What are market estimates and forecasts; which markets are doing well and which are not?

– Where are the gaps and opportunities; what is driving the market?

– Which are the key playing fields? Which are the winning edge imperatives?

– How is the competitive outlook; who are the main players in each of the segments; what are the key selling products; what are their strategic directives, operational strengths and product pipelines? Who is doing what?

A new analysis has found that two million cancer survivors did not get needed medical services in the previous year because of concerns about cost. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study raises the concern that the long-term health and well-being of cancer survivors could suffer because patients have financial worries about their care.

Kathryn Weaver, PhD, MPH, of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem led a team that examined the prevalence of forgoing care due to financial concerns. They sought todetermine whether cancer history and race or ethnicity were associated with individuals’ likelihood to go without care. The investigators analyzed information from the annual US National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), an in person, nationwide survey of approximately 30,000 to 40,000 households in the civilian, non-institutionalized population that is used to track trends in illness and disability in the United States. Data from 6,602 adult cancer survivors and 104,364 individuals with no history of cancer who were surveyed in the 2003 to 2006 NHIS were included in the study.

Disparities among cancer survivors were largely reflective of those in the general adult population. Among cancer survivors, the  prevalence of forgoing care in the past year due to cost was 7.8 percent for medical care, 9.9 percent for prescription medications, 11.3 percent for dental care, and 2.7 percent for mental health care. Cancer survivors under the age of 65 years were 55 percent more likely to delay or forgo all types of medical care than their same age peers without a history of cancer. “This is important because cancer survivors have many medical needs that persist for years after their diagnosis and treatment,” said Dr. Weaver. Hispanic and black cancer survivors were more likely to go without prescription medications and dental care than white survivors.

This analysis revealed that 18 percent of US cancer survivors, which would mean an estimated more than two million individuals, did not get one or more needed medical services because of financial concerns. “Future research needs to examine the impact of forgoing care on survivors’ quality of life and survival,” the authors concluded. Dr. Weaver noted that it will also be interesting to observe how recent health care reform efforts might impact access to care for cancer survivors.

Dental care can really take a bite out of your wallet. Even if you have insurance — and just over half of people do, says the National Association of Dental Plans — the typical co-insurance is only 50% on major procedures such as root canals, bridges, and crowns, which run $750 and up. Here’s how to manage those costs so that you don’t end up putting too much money where your mouth is: 1. Don’t rush for coverage. 2. Pay for prevention. 3. Investigate discounts. 4. Ask about stopgaps.

Baby teeth are vulnerable to tooth decay from their very first appearance, on average between the ages of six and 12 months. Pediatric dentists specialize in caring for these tiny teeth, imperative for proper speech development and nutrition. The specialized care offered by a pediatric dentist includes unique strategies for working with children that alleviate fear and anxiety through the use of positive reinforcement and behavior guidance. Pediatric dentists monitor babies’ growth and development and provide essential dentistry services including tooth cleaning, polishing and fluoride treatment.

For healthy smiles, dental care must be established in – and out – of the pediatric dentist’s chair. The AAPD recommends the following at-home methods for infant oral health care:

Clean infant mouths and gums regularly with a soft infant toothbrush or cloth and water.

Children older than six months need fluoride supplements if their drinking water does not contain enough fluoride. Fluoride supplementation in infants has been shown to reduce tooth decay by as much as 50 percent. Check with your pediatric dentist first.

Babies should be weaned from the bottle by 12-14 months of age and at will breast-feeding should be discouraged.

Baby teeth should be brushed at least twice a day with a toothbrush made for small children using a “smear” of fluoridated toothpaste.

Visit www.aapd.org for more information or to locate a pediatric dentist.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry

Founded in 1947, the AAPD is a not-for-profit membership organization representing the specialty of pediatric dentistry. AAPD’s 7,600 members are predominately pediatric dentists and primary care providers who deliver comprehensive specialty treatments for infants, children, adolescents and individuals with special health care needs. As advocates for children’s oral health, the AAPD aims to promote the use of evidence-based policies and guidelines, foster research concerning pediatric oral health, and educate health care providers and the public to improve children’s oral health. For further information, please visit the AAPD Web site at http://www.aapd.org.

In a show of responsible corporate leadership, executives from CPX Interactive fund inaugurate Children International’s newest community center, which will help impoverished children in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/childreninternational/44544/

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100609/MM17262 )

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100609/MM17262 )

CPX Interactive executives, feeling compelled to make a difference to poor children, encouraged their colleagues to join them in funding the construction of the B.U.D.S. Community Center, where over 5,000 children will receive medical and dental care, educational support and nutrition education.

Children International’s President and CEO Jim Cook said, “We are grateful to CPX Interactive for their passion and dedication to helping children living in crushing poverty. Their support is an excellent example of being a responsible corporate citizen.”

An effective model for community development, the new center marks the sixth Children International center in Guayaquil that serves poor children and their families from marginal areas of the city. The center will provide benefits to poor families who often live on less than a dollar a day and reside in makeshift shacks with dirt floors on the outskirts of a major metropolitan area.

Children International has been working in Ecuador since 1988 and currently serves 55,000 children in cities of Guayaquil and Quito.

About Children International:

Established in 1936, Children International is a humanitarian organization with its headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. Children International’s programs benefit more than 335,000 children and their families in 11 countries around the world including Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Zambia, Honduras, India, the Philippines and the United States. For more information about Children International or to sponsor a child, visit www.children.org.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Dolores Quinn Kitchin

Public Relations

Children International

Direct: (816) 943-3730

Cell: (816) 718-0711

Email: dkitchin@children.org

https://twitter.com/ci_doloresk

SOURCE Children International

2010 JUN 12 – (VerticalNews.com) — According to recent research published in the journal Community Dental Health, “Inequalities in oral health in areas of socio-economic disadvantage are well recognised. As children spend a considerable proportion of their lives in education, schools can play a significant role in promoting children’s health and oral health.”

“However, to what extent schools are able to do this is unclear. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate opportunities and challenges to promoting oral health in primary schools. A purposive sample of 20 primary schools from socially and economically disadvantaged areas of Cardiff, UK were selected to participate in this qualitative study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with head teachers or their nominated deputies. General awareness of health and oral health was good, with all schools promoting the consumption of fruit, water and milk and discouraging products such as carbonated drinks and confectionaries. Health promotion schemes were implemented primarily to improve the health of the children, although schools felt they also offered the potential to improve classroom behaviour and attendance. However, oral health was viewed as a separate entity to general health and perceived to be inadequately promoted. Successful health promotion schemes were also influenced by the attitudes of headteachers. Most schools had no or limited links with local dental services and, or oral health educators, although such input, when it occurred, was welcomed and highly valued. Knowledge of how to handle dental emergencies was limited and only two schools operated toothbrushing schemes, although all expressed an interest in such programmes. This study identified a positive predisposition to promoting health in primary schools. The challenge for the dental team, however, is to promote and integrate oral health into mainstream health promotion activities in schools,” wrote P. Gill and colleagues, University of Glamorgan.

The California Dental Association (CDA), the largest statewide dental association in the United States, announced today that it has implemented the Lawson S3 Enterprise Financial Management suite and Lawson Business Intelligence. The organization is using the Lawson solutions to replace its disparate finance applications with a central, consolidated system that will help it increase efficiency and focus more resources on growing its membership. Lawson Professional Services managed this implementation.

CDA, based in Sacramento, Calif., has more than 25,000 members representing over 70 percent of dentists practicing in the state. The organization, comprised of five entities including an insurance company, was using two separate general ledger applications. This burdened accounting with several manual processes and did not provide the up-to-date financial data that management needed to run each business unit as efficiently as it needed. To help improve efficiency, CDA wanted to consolidate its various applications into a central general ledger system.

“We chose Lawson because we needed a solution that could better accommodate the intricacies of our various business groups, yet was robust enough to grow right along with us,” said Bob Spinelli, CFO for CDA. “The Lawson solutions will help us distribute more frequent, timely reports to senior management so they have a heightened awareness of the fiscal health of their particular business.”

The S3 Financial Management Suite will help CDA improve transparency of business processes and reduce costs by standardizing the chart of accounts and company structures. It includes core financial functions that are necessary to run a business, such as general ledger, which is integrated with accounts payable, accounts receivable and cash management tools. This helps support more efficient invoice processing. The organization also uses Lawson Business Intelligence for customized reports and distribution. This deeper view into key data will help provide CDA leaders with a more complete view of information, allowing them to analyze operational processes faster, make decisions, and enter those decisions back into operational systems to help capitalize on business opportunities.

“The insurance industry today is facing growing demand to be profitable, and many insurers are turning to solutions like Lawson to help eliminate inefficient administrative processes,” said Dave Siebert, general manager for Lawson Services Industries. “Lawson solutions are designed to meet the industry-specific needs of organizations like CDA, and provide tools for gathering, analyzing and sharing financial and operational information that is vital to the success of the business.”

About Lawson Software

Lawson Software provides software and service solutions to 4,500 customers in equipment service management and rental, fashion, food & beverage, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution, public sector (United States), service industries, and strategic human capital management across 40 countries. Lawson Software is a global provider of enterprise software, services and support to customers primarily in three sectors: services, trade and manufacturing/distribution. Lawson’s solutions include Enterprise Performance Management, Human Capital Management, Supply Chain Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer Relationship Management, Manufacturing Resource Planning, Enterprise Asset Management and industry-tailored applications. Lawson solutions assist customers in simplifying their businesses or organizations by helping them streamline processes, reduce costs and enhance business or operational performance. Lawson is headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., and has offices around the world. Visit Lawson online at www.lawson.com. For Lawson’s listing on the First North exchange in Sweden, Remium AB is acting as the Certified Adviser.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that contain risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements contain statements of intent, belief or current expectations of Lawson Software and its management. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the potential results discussed in the forward-looking statements. The company is not obligated to update forward-looking statements based on circumstances or events that occur in the future. Risks and uncertainties that may cause such differences include but are not limited to: uncertainties in uncertainties in the software industry; uncertainties as to when and whether the conditions for the recognition of deferred revenue will be satisfied; increased competition; general economic conditions; the impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; continuation of the global credit crisis; global military conflicts; terrorist attacks; pandemics, and any future events in response to these developments; changes in conditions in the company’s targeted industries and other risk factors listed in the company’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Lawson assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release.

Socotto P. Garcia was brushing her 17-month-old son Daniel’s teeth when she noticed something wasn’t quite right.

“The color looked a little different on one of the front teeth,” Garcia said. “I started looking to see what was wrong with that tooth.”

Tuesday morning, the Garcia family decided to take Daniel to the Wilson County Health Department to see what was wrong with the tooth.

Turns out little Daniel has a cavity on the back of that front tooth, said Valerie Brock, child public health nurse, after examining him.

The Wilson County Health Department has a new dental screening and fluoride varnishing program called “Into the Mouths of Babes,” which allows parents to bring in children as young as 6 months old to have a dental screening and fluoride varnish applied to the teeth.

The program, which is funded by the state, is for children up to 3 1/2 years of age and the treatments are suggested to be given every six months. The program started March 8.

“Getting the varnish is just like having a fluoride treatment at the dentist,” said Kay Long, child health coordinator. “We just put a very small amount of the varnish on the teeth and it sticks to the teeth until parents brush it off the next day.”

Long said the varnish tastes like bubble gum and the procedure doesn’t hurt the child.

“Children do make a fuss,” Brock said. “But it’s only because they don’t want you to go into their mouth.”

Brock said Daniel cried because he didn’t understand what she was doing.

“His father held him and comforted him,” she said.

Long said the sooner parents bring their children get the varnish, the fewer cavities they will probably have. She said studies show children receiving the procedure have fewer cavity-related treatments in a dental office than children who do not receive the treatment.

Brock said it also helps children to continue into adulthood with dental care when they start early.

Health department officials are trying to get more parents educated about why it is important for children to have regular dental check-ups.

“You would be surprised to know how many children don’t see the dentist,” Long said. “Statistics say 40 percent of children who start kindergarten have cavities.”

Long said many times children come to the health department for their well child check-ups needed to enter school and she finds their teeth and gums are in bad shape.

One reason very young children get cavities is because parents put babies to bed with a bottle.

“Milk has sugars in it and when a baby falls asleep with milk in his mouth, the sugar from the milk sits on the teeth,” Long said. “Toddlers also have sugary drinks in their sippy cups. All of those things cause cavities.”

Access to dental care for some parents is out of reach, Long said.

“There are not many pediatric dentists and only 25 percent of North Carolina dentists participate in Medicaid,” Long said. “So many children don’t get to see the dentist.”

It is not necessary for a child to receive any other health department services to get the dental screening services.

But the parent or guardian of the child must be present when the child gets the varnish.

“It is important that the person who cares for the child be here so they can learn first-hand about cavity prevention and what they can do,” Long said.

Appointments are not necessary. Walk-ins are welcome.

Garcia was brushing her 17-month-old son Daniel’s teeth when she noticed something wasn’t quite right.

“The color looked a little different on one of the front teeth,” Garcia said. “I started looking to see what was wrong with that tooth.”

Tuesday morning, the Garcia family decided to take Daniel to the Wilson County Health Department to see what was wrong with the tooth.

Turns out little Daniel has a cavity on the back of that front tooth, said Valerie Brock, child public health nurse, after examining him.

The Wilson County Health Department has a new dental screening and fluoride varnishing program called “Into the Mouths of Babes,” which allows parents to bring in children as young as 6 months old to have a dental screening and fluoride varnish applied to the teeth.

The program, which is funded by the state, is for children up to 3 1/2 years of age and the treatments are suggested to be given every six months. The program started March 8.

“Getting the varnish is just like having a fluoride treatment at the dentist,” said Kay Long, child health coordinator. “We just put a very small amount of the varnish on the teeth and it sticks to the teeth until parents brush it off the next day.”

Long said the varnish tastes like bubble gum and the procedure doesn’t hurt the child.

“Children do make a fuss,” Brock said. “But it’s only because they don’t want you to go into their mouth.”

Brock said Daniel cried because he didn’t understand what she was doing.

“His father held him and comforted him,” she said.

Long said the sooner parents bring their children get the varnish, the fewer cavities they will probably have. She said studies show children receiving the procedure have fewer cavity-related treatments in a dental office than children who do not receive the treatment.

Brock said it also helps children to continue into adulthood with dental care when they start early.

Health department officials are trying to get more parents educated about why it is important for children to have regular dental check-ups.

“You would be surprised to know how many children don’t see the dentist,” Long said. “Statistics say 40 percent of children who start kindergarten have cavities.”

Long said many times children come to the health department for their well child check-ups needed to enter school and she finds their teeth and gums are in bad shape.

One reason very young children get cavities is because parents put babies to bed with a bottle.

“Milk has sugars in it and when a baby falls asleep with milk in his mouth, the sugar from the milk sits on the teeth,” Long said. “Toddlers also have sugary drinks in their sippy cups. All of those things cause cavities.”

Access to dental care for some parents is out of reach, Long said.

“There are not many pediatric dentists and only 25 percent of North Carolina dentists participate in Medicaid,” Long said. “So many children don’t get to see the dentist.”

It is not necessary for a child to receive any other health department services to get the dental screening services.

But the parent or guardian of the child must be present when the child gets the varnish.

“It is important that the person who cares for the child be here so they can learn first-hand about cavity prevention and what they can do,” Long said.

Appointments are not necessary. Walk-ins are welcome.