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Cavity Free at Three is a three-year, statewide effort to prevent oral disease in young children. The effort aims to engage dentists, physicians, nurses, dental hygienists, public health practitioners and early childhood educators in the prevention and early detection of oral disease in pregnant women, infants and toddlers.
The Colorado AHEC System Office is to provide leadership and management of the Cavity Free at Three Program. This program takes advantage of the statewide efforts of AHEC. AHEC will help incorporate the CF3 training into the University of Colorado Medical School, University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine, and University of Colorado School of Nursing, as well as other allied health curricula. Community marketing efforts will help educate the public regarding the importance of establishing a dental home for a child by age one.
Our goal is simple: We want all children in our state to be cavity free by the time they reach age three.
Our mission is to reduce oral disparities in children early in life. We are concerned about the serious co-morbidities effecting children, families, communities and the health care system. Through these efforts we aim to reduce oral disparities in children, and concentrate our efforts toward the uninsured and impoverished population with the greatest barriers in access to care.
Dental disease is the number one chronic disease of children in
America, yet, it is a preventable disease.
- Dental caries is the most common chronic childhood disease. 5 times as common as asthma; 7 times as common as hay fever.
- 80% of the disease is in 20% of the population. It is largely a disease of poverty.
- Dental disease affects children's ability to eat properly, grow, attend school and learn.
In Colorado,
- 18% of 2-4 year olds have dental caries; 16% have untreated decay.
- 45.7% of kindergarteners have dental caries; 26.9% have untreated decay.
- 57.2% of third graders have dental caries; 26.1% have untreated decay.
- By age 17, 78% of children have had at least one cavity; 7% have lost a permanent tooth to dental decay.
Progress of Cavity Free at Three:
Our program was started in 2008. We have presented our model at more than 75 community outreach locations. Through these efforts we have trained over 700 multi-disciplined providers. Our Technical Assistance Team consists of 39 members throughout Colorado. In 2010, we conducted 28 training opportunities and outreached over 10,000 infants and families since our inception.
For more information, please contact Cavity Free at Three through the University of Colorado AHEC System Office.
Karen Savoie at 303-724-4750, karen.savoie@ucdenver.edu
