September 15, 2010
Jeff Hale Editorial Comment
News Review

Poor dental health is a “silent epidemic” (U.S. Surgeon General) with consequences that affect children now and throughout their adult lives. The problem is big, growing, expensive and very damaging to the lives of both children and their parents. For the first time in 40 years, children's dental disease is on the rise.

According to Oregon's Smile Survey, students lost 16,000 school hours in 2007 due to dental pain. Hospitals report dental disorders among the most frequently presented problems in the emergency room. A recent Pew Charitable Trust report announced that Oregon meets only four out of eight children's dental health benchmarks resulting in a grade of “C” for our state. We can do better than this. Children deserve to go to school free from pain and ready to learn — a reality within our grasp. Caries, the disease that causes cavities, is almost completely preventable at a very low cost.

Over the past two years, Oregon Community Foundation volunteers in the Southern Willamette Valley region investigated community needs, best practices, and creative solutions to the problems facing its communities. They decided to focus on the prevention and remediation of dental disease among children in Benton, Douglas, Lane, Linn, Coos and Curry counties. A similar group representing the Oregon South Coast will also focus on children's dental health.

These OCF regional initiatives to promote children's dental health present a rare opportunity for philanthropic leaders and public policy makers to create better systems and policies that will ensure a strong return on both public and private investments. Agencies within the Oregon South Coast and Southern Willamette Valley are now beginning to receive initial OCF funding for children's dental health treatment and prevention.

Thanks to this funding, Umpqua Community Health Center and Mercy Foundation will reach nearly every community in Douglas County with screenings, fluoride varnishes, sealants, and educational programs. The Albany Boys and Girls Club will open its new dental clinic soon. Children in Lane County will receive services to address acute dental pain and extensive dental care. All these organizations will be working with community partners to fill gaps in service, ensure access to dental services, provide outreach to rural areas, and experiment with new approaches.

The Oregon Community Foundation's Dental Health Initiative provides community agencies with new resources to prevent dental disease and build creative partnerships using social research and community organizing to identify best practices. This rigorous philanthropic process provides distinct ways for donors, public officials, and policy makers to foster fundamental changes to address the root of the problem.

As the results of this work become more apparent, there can be dramatic savings by the state of Oregon, school districts, dental insurance companies, hospitals and urgent care centers. Most importantly, children will be healthier and families will be strengthened. Oregon will be a place that prevents dental disease, instead of paying privately and publicly for the rising costs of pain management and restoration. Not to mention alleviating the pain and suffering of children who previously could not access dental care.

The Oregon Community Foundation has once again proven itself to be a valuable resource for our community. The Foundation has provided the funds, staff, volunteers and structure for donors to make a difference in the lives of others based on research evidence, best-practices, and cost effective approaches. The Southern Willamette Region will distribute about $1 million in the four county area. The staff and volunteers of The Oregon Community Foundation have undertaken an extraordinary philanthropic initiative for Oregon, making it easy to give with confidence, while engaging corporate and public partners to change the underlying conditions that cause dental decay. The foundation deserves our praise and their initiatives deserve both public and private sector support.

Jeff Hale is chairman of the Children's Dental Health Initiative for the Oregon Community Foundation's Southern Willamette Region. He's also assistant dean of external affairs for Oregon State University in Corvallis. He can be reached at jhale@oregonstate.edu.

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