Angelica Urquijo, Office of Public Relations
University of Southern California School of Dentistry
(213) 740-6568 Office
(626) 340-1804 Cell

Sandra Bolton, RN, JD
Healthy Smiles for Kids of Orange County
(714) 532-7933 Office
(714) 328-8994 Cell

Press Release
October 4, 2007

USC SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY AND COMMUNITY HEALTH PARTNERS SHARE INSIGHT AS TO HOW LOSS OF THE CHILDREN’S HEALTHCARE BILL COULD CONTRIBUTE TO A RISE IN THE SILENT EPIDEMIC AFFECTING CHILDREN

Loss in S-Chip Funds Would Compromise California’s Most Vulnerable Children

(Garden Grove, CA) – Tooth decay remains the most prevalent, chronic disease among children in this country. It is five times more common than asthma and can be just as debilitating and even fatal. Harold Slavkin, Dean, USC School of Dentistry, “We must break the cycle of this disease that is robbing our children not only of their beautiful smiles but a healthy body and in one case that we know the life of a 12 year old boy, Deamonte Driver.” Slavkin adds, “This bill is crucial for the health of all children across the country… Our leaders in Washington have the opportunity to offer our children the safety net they deserve in order to succeed and live a healthy life.”

President Bush’s veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) concerns community organizations because it profoundly compromises California’s poorest children, the most vulnerable group in our communities. Three year old Lisette Minera and her mother Tania joined the coalition for the briefing.  Lisette underwent extensive treatment under anesthesia in order to repair severe dental disease.  Her working family struggles to get her medical insurance, and gaining dental insurance coverage is even more difficult. 

Sandra Bolton, RN, JD Executive Director of Healthy Smiles for Kids of Orange County, “In affluent Orange County, statistics show that approximately 152,089 children have no dental coverage.  For every child that does not have health coverage, two do not have dental coverage. Every day thousands of Orange County Children go to school with this painful, transmittable, disease that is largely preventable and curable with early detection.” Orange County children suffer from a 5.4% higher rate of tooth decay than the state average. By age five, ONE out of THREE Orange County children are plagued by visible untreated tooth decay.

About USC, Healthy Smiles for Kids of Orange County, and CHOC
One of the most innovative collaborations to eliminate disparities in access to oral health prevention and treatment among Orange County’s children is the Orange County Pediatric Dental Residency Program. The FIRST in Orange County, the program is supported by the collaboration of three key partners -- University of Southern California, School of Advanced Pediatric Dentistry (USC), Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) and Healthy Smiles for Kids of Orange County who share the common goals of education and the improvement of the overall health and well being of children in Southern California. In 2006, USC established a satellite hospital site for its Advanced Pediatric Dental Residency Program at CHOC, with follow-up and outreach services through Healthy Smiles for Kids at its Smile Center in Garden Grove.

Healthy Smiles for Kids of Orange County
Healthy Smiles for Kids of Orange County is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to improving the oral health of children in Orange County through collaborations directed at prevention, education, treatment, and advocacy.  In 2005, the Children & Families Commission of Orange County provided the necessary funding for Healthy Smiles to open a dental clinic and a hands-on education center. 
Healthy Smiles for Kids of Orange County serves approximately 500 children a month in their Smile Center Clinic while also serving thousands of children monthly through their outreach and Seals on Wheels school-based sealant and prevention program. Visit www.healthysmilesOC.org or call (714)532-7930

Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC)
Named one of the nation's top children's hospitals by CHILD magazine, Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) is exclusively committed to the health and well being of children through clinical expertise, advocacy, outreach and research that brings advanced treatment to our patients. CHOC's growing healthcare network includes two state-of-the-art hospitals in Orange and Mission Viejo, several community clinics, a residency program that trains tomorrow's pediatricians, and four centers of excellence - The Heart, Cancer, Neuroscience, and Orthopaedic Institutes.

CHOC earned the "Excellence in Patient Safety & Health Care Quality Award" from the state's leading health plans, and was one of only eight children's hospitals in the nation to be named to the Leapfrog "Top Hospitals 2007" list, based on results from The Leapfrog Group's Hospital Quality and Safety Survey. For more information about CHOC, visit www.choc.org or call 714-997-3000.

For PDF version of this release, click here.

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