NO. 1 KIDS' EPIDEMIC: BAD TEETH.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

Almost two-thirds of California's youngsters have dental disease by the time they reach third grade, making it the No. 1 children's health problem in the state, says a study released today by the Dental Health Foundation.

And among the 25 states surveyed, California ranked second to only Arkansas for the incidence of dental disease among its children.

``This is a serious epidemic,'' said Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding, the health officer for Los Angeles County. ``We know there is a lot more that needs to be done. I think first among them is making sure everyone has access to fluoridated water.''

Fielding noted that only four of the 88 cities in the county - Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Long Beach and Pico Rivera - fluoridate their water, a process shown to prevent tooth decay.

Dr. David Perry, who chairs the Dental Health Foundation, said when people think of children's diseases they most often think of obesity and asthma.

``But dental disease is now the single most common chronic disease of childhood, and is seriously impairing the quality of life for thousands of children in California each year,'' Perry said.

Researchers surveyed more than 21,000 kindergarten and third-graders during the 2004-2005 school year and found that more than 25 percent had untreated tooth decay. That means as many as 750,000 elementary school children statewide may need dental care.

The study also found that 4 percent of the children, or 138,000, are in pain or have untreated tooth infections. Researchers noted that dental disease in California is five times more common in children than asthma.

Of 3,700 children surveyed in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Fielding said, more than 60 percent had dental decay by the time they got to kindergarten, compared with 50 percent statewide.

And 70 percent of LAUSD children had a history of dental decay, compared with 62 percent statewide. Finally, only 21 percent of third-graders had received teeth sealants - a process designed to protect teeth against decay - compared with 28 percent statewide.

``This is almost entirely preventable,'' Fielding said. ``And once kids are in school and parents find tooth decay because of school screening, it's pretty late in the game.''

Researchers estimated that school children ages 5 to 17 missed nearly 2 million school days in a single year nationwide due to dental health problems.

``Kids can't study when they hurt,'' Perry said. ``They can't sit still, they can't focus.

``While there are children in some high-income schools that have never had a cavity, in other schools there are kids in debilitating, chronic pain in every classroom.''

Parents' financial difficulties, including a lack of dental insurance, are the primary barriers to dental care, the survey found. A total of 72 percent percent of Latino children surveyed had experienced decay, while 26 percent had rampant decay and 30 percent needed immediate treatment - nearly twice the rates of white children surveyed.

Unlike many other diseases, dental disease is almost entirely preventable if children and parents start practicing good habits early. By the time children are in kindergarten more than 50 percent already have dental decay, 19 percent have rampant decay and 28 percent have untreated decay.

``Many parents think, 'They're just baby teeth. They're going to fall out anyway. Why bother?' But these first teeth hold the space for the adult teeth emerging under them,'' Perry said.

``If they are severely decayed, need to be pulled or fall out too soon, the permanent teeth can come in crooked and crowded, condemning the child to years of orthodontia or a lifetime of twisted teeth.''

Of the children surveyed, 17 percent of kindergartners and more than 5 percent of third-graders had never been to the dentist, leaving them at a significantly higher risk for decay.

On Feb. 28, the foundation will present the study to the California State Assembly Standing Committee on Health to discuss the results and advocate for increased services for children's oral health in the state.

The foundation is also working to help prevent tooth decay by developing a surveillance system, increasing access to dental coverage and preventive care and increasing the use of fluoridation and dental sealants.

Sealants applied to permanent molars can avert tooth decay for an average of five to seven years, but currently only 28 percent of third-graders in the state have sealants.

Troy Anderson, [phone]

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com