I’ve spent 35 years in Maine as a board licensed pediatric dentist, making an attempt to supply dental care to as many kids as I may. Too many of those kids got here to me with dental illness that would have been prevented via options just like the one proposed by L.D. 1501: “An Act to Shield Oral Well being for Youngsters in Maine,” which might develop Maine’s Faculty Oral Well being Program to serve all faculties.
It may be extremely tough for kids to get the dental care they want. Boundaries abound for folks, from securing transportation, to getting break day from work, to discovering a dentist who accepts their insurance coverage or paying out of pocket for the price of appointments. It’s time to attain out and produce care to the place the kids are, particularly fundamental preventive providers like screenings, fluoride varnish, and sealants that may be offered rapidly and successfully proper within the college setting by a hygienist.
We have to create a tradition in Maine the place we acknowledge oral well being as vital to total well being and the place we guarantee oral well being is a proper for all kids in Maine.
Given how remarkably efficient prevention and early intervention therapies could be, this needn’t be a pipe dream. Maine legislators might help set kids up for a wholesome childhood by guaranteeing that L.D. 1501 is funded within the supplemental funds.
Stephen C. Mills, DDS
Scarborough
Associated Tales
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