Most states fail dental health

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- About 20 percent of U.S. children go without dental care each year, and two-thirds of states do not have effective dental policies, U.S. researchers say.

A report by the Pew Center on the States graded each state's policy responses to the challenges in dental health among America's low-income children.

"Millions of children go without dental care each year but the good news is, it's fixable," Shelly Gehshan, director of the Pew Children's Dental Campaign, said in a statement.

"By enacting a handful of effective policies, states can help eliminate the long-term health and economic consequences of untreated dental problems among kids."

Pew scored all 50 states and the District of Columbia, using an A-F scale, on whether and how well they are employing eight proven policy solutions to ensure dental health and access to care for children.

Six states merited an "A" grade -- Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island and South Carolina -- by meeting at least six of the eight policy benchmarks and had policies in place that met or exceeded the national performance standards. No state met all eight targets.

Nine states earned an "F," meeting one or two policy benchmarks: Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, Hawaii, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wyoming.