Rank of California among the 50 states in children’s dental health: 48th
States ranking lower than California: Arizona, Texas
Percent of California children younger than 5 with untreated dental decay: 28
Percent of young US children with untreated decay: 20*
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In 2007, the last year that data for many reports was available, more than 500,000 California children between the ages of 5 and 17 missed at least one day of school in a year because of dental problems, costing school districts $29.7 million dollars in lost revenue.
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In the Bay Area, children and teenagers up to the age of 17 made nearly 1,980 visits to emergency rooms for preventable dental conditions in 2007. The cost of these visits averaged $172, but if a problem required hospitalization it cost an average of $5,000.
Source: NY Times, except *, from US Dept. of Health and Human Services, reported previously
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