Maternal and Child Health Library

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May 11, 2007

1. FORUM PROVIDES FUTURE DIRECTIONS RELATED TO WOMEN'S PERIODONTAL HEALTH AND BIRTH OUTCOMES

Research to Policy and Practice Forum: Periodontal Health and Birth Outcomes—Summary of a Meeting of Maternal, Child, and Oral Health Experts explores the oral health requirements of pregnant women as a promising strategy for improving maternal and infant health. The report summarizes presentations of commissioned background papers and other topics, as well as workgroup discussions from a forum convened by the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA's) Maternal and Child Health Bureau, held on December 11-12, 2006, in Washington, DC. The forum was planned in collaboration with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; HRSA's Office of Women's Health; the National Institute of Health's National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, and Office of Research on Women's Health; and the Office of the Surgeon General. The report, prepared by Health Systems Research and published by the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center, includes an overview and purpose; a summary of presentations; and a discussion of future directions for policy, programming, and research. Closing remarks, next steps, references, the forum agenda, and a participant list are also provided. The report is available at http://www.mchoralhealth.org/PDFs/PeriodontalSummary.pdf. The presenters’ slides and other relevant resources are available at http://www.mchoralhealth.org/Materials/Multiples/PerioForum.

• President's FY 2008 Budget and Medicaid proposes savings from Medicaid over the next 5 years through a combination of legislative and regulatory changes. The fact sheet is available at http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/7634.pdf.
• President's FY 2008 Budget and The State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) proposes reauthorizing SCHIP for the next 5 years by (1) adding $4.8 billion to the current SCHIP allotment of $25 billion over 5 years, (2) reducing the amount of time that states have to spend their allotments from 3 years to 1 year, and (3) limiting the enhanced SCHIP match to children and pregnant women with incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. The fact sheet is available at http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/7635.pdf.
• The Affordable Choices Initiative: An Overview proposes expanding private health insurance coverage to individuals who are uninsured and to those who are difficult to insure because of high-cost medical conditions by allowing states to reprogram current spending on institutions. The fact sheet is available at http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/7637.pdf.

• Among children ages 6-11, caries experience remained unchanged between 1988-1994 and 1999-2004.
• Among children ages 2-5, dental caries in the primary teeth increased between the two periods. This increase was not accompanied by an increase in untreated decay but was accompanied by a greater number of dental surfaces restored between the two periods.
• The presence of dental sealants on the permanent teeth of all children ages 6-11 increased. The presence of dental sealants increased for all major demographic subgroups except for children ages 6-8 and for those living in households at 100%-199% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).
• For adolescents ages 12-19, caries experience declined, although untreated tooth decay remained unchanged.
• The percentage of adolescents ages 12-19 with dental sealants more than doubled.
• Among adults ages 20-64, the number of permanent teeth increased. The increase was significant across all major demographic subgroups.
• Overall, edentulism and caries experience declined among adults ages 20-64.
• Mean periodontal recession, pocket depth, and attachment loss all significantly declined among adults across nearly all major demographic subgroups.
• Overall, edentulism declined among seniors ages 65 and older, the prevalence of dental caries remained unchanged, and periodontal health improved.

• In 2004, nearly one-half (46%) of infant deaths to non-Hispanic black women and 40% of infant deaths to Puerto Rican women were due to preterm-related causes of death, whereas the percentages were somewhat lower for other racial and ethnic groups.
• In 2004, the preterm-related infant mortality rate was 3.3 times higher for non-Hispanic black women than for non-Hispanic white women.
• In 2004, the preterm-related infant mortality rate for non-Hispanic black women was higher than the total infant mortality rate for non-Hispanic white, Mexican, and Asian and Pacific Islander women.
• The preterm-related infant mortality rate for Puerto Rican women was 75% higher than for non-Hispanic white women.