title: California children and oral health: trends and challenges.
abstract: This paper highlights fundamental elements of the challenge of securing optimal oral health for California's children, now and in the future, and underscores the need for new strategies to reduce the risk of dental disease and expand access to effective services. Developing effective strategies to gain optimal oral health for California children, especially those that are most vulnerable to dental disease and its consequences, requires an appreciation of key dynamic factors that define this challenge and the degree to which these factors are modifiable in the near and long term. Particular attention is directed toward three principal elements: population demographics, levels of dental disease in California children, and factors affecting access to services for vulnerable groups of children. The concluding section addresses the need for strategic action.
authors.affiliation: Maternal Child and Health Bureau, National Oral Health Policy Center at Columbia University, New York, NY 10032-3702, USA. jjc233@columbia.edu
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Crall
mesh_terms: D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006285:Health Planning; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence