Put teeth in health policy

(JOHN OVERMYER ILLUSTRATION)

YOUR JAN. 26 editorial "A cavity in children's health" points to the need for improved access to dental care for low-income and minority children. You are right. But the critical point you overlook - and what needs greater attention in the media - is the source of tooth decay and other dental problems: the American diet.

When people eat a primarily plant-based diet of unprocessed, whole foods, they have healthy teeth and gums. It is our consumption of fast food and "food products" with a high concentration of sugar and empty calories that creates dental problems, among other serious health woes, in the first place.

Yes, everyone needs and deserves access to dental care. But regulation of the food industry, education about healthful eating, and ensuring the affordability of wholesome foods are essential.

CATHY COGEN KAUFMAN
Lexington

DO WE really need new government bureaucracies for dentistry? Are the public schools doing such a swell job at education that we should add the responsibility of dental care to their activities by putting dental facilities in the schools? You write, "More minority dental students should be recruited to increase diversity and break down some patients' distrust of dentists." Do we really want to ask college students to go to dental school not because of any skill or interest but because of their race? Must the government provide children not just with free dental care but with a dentist of their own race? Does any of this make sense, or is it just mindless government expansion run amok?

You make no mention of parents. Might they be doing something? Or should they just be dispensed with so that government can take care of the education and health of their children without any further interference?

RICHARD E. RALSTON
Executive director
Americans for Free Choice in Medicine
Newport Beach, Calif.

ONE GLARING omission in your editorial is the role bottled water has played in the increase in children's tooth decay. Most bottled water does not contain fluoride. Unless you are drinking from your city or town water supply, which in most cases is fluoridated, you are not receiving the benefits that water can give you. Take the bottled water away from your children or fill the empty bottle from your household tap. Your children's teeth will be healthier, and the environment will benefit from a decrease in all of that plastic.

MARCIA L. SWEENEY
Marblehead

REGISTERED DENTAL hygienists could play an expanded role in the dental health of the Commonwealth if the scope of practice were enlarged. A bill in the Legislature is aimed at this need. Legislation sponsored by the Massachusetts Dental Hygienists' Association would allow registered dental hygienists to perform preventive procedures in public settings, such as nursing homes and schools, without prior authorization of a dentist.

Our neighboring New England states have this provision, as do 22 states nationwide. I have been a dental hygienist for 35 years in a variety of settings, and I know who gets dental care and who does not.

I hope this legislation passes so that dental hygienists can fulfill the preventive and educational roles they are trained to perform.

JEANNE CHAMBERS
Norwood

THE ARTICLE "Study finds financial, racial disparities in dental care" (City & Region, Jan. 24) calls attention to an important problem facing low-income and minority students in Massachusetts, but fails to connect it to a larger, critical issue in public education: the achievement gap. Any attempt to improve academic performance in schools must recognize and deal with the non-academic issues, such as oral health, that affect a child's ability to learn before he or she even sets foot in a classroom.

The Step UP (University Partnership) Dental Program does exactly that. As part of a larger initiative launched by Mayor Menino, faculty and staff from area dental schools are delivering services to students in eight Boston elementary schools. Schoolchildren who would otherwise be without access to a dentist are given toothbrushes, information on dental hygiene, cleanings, sealants, and even restorative work. Along with all of our partners in Step UP, I look forward to the day when something as trivial as a toothache doesn't stand in the way of a child's ability to learn.

KAREN DANIELS

Executive Director
Step UP
Boston