Erie in the News
For more information about Erie Family Health Center, please contact Valerie Comprelli at 312.432.7463 or vcomprelli@eriefamilyhealth.org
Sharing Smiles: Community workers discuss ways to improve Chicago’s oral health
Written by Lisa Owad
January 27, 2010
Chicago community health workers gathered Wednesday to address the lack of oral health care facing their clientele.
The Sharing Smiles Roundtable discussed the lack of preventative care and financing for oral health with organizations including Advocate Health Care, Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago and Community Health.
The average child at Erie Family Dental clinics has five to six cavities on their visits, according to Dr. Lee Francis, president and CEO of Erie Family Health Center, which hosted the seminar and has several locations in Chicago. And those who live in poverty, both children and adults, suffer more than twice the amount of tooth decay.
Francis called oral health “one of the biggest challenges in public health that exists today.” While oral health care reform may not be at the forefront of the health care debate, problems of access and affordability plague many people with little or no dental insurance. Children are 2.6 times more likely to lack dental insurance than health insurance, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Roundtable gave community workers a chance to learn about good oral health practices, as well as places where their community members could get help.
Dr. Ghassan Souri, vice president of oral health services at Erie Family Health Care, spoke of the importance of early tooth decay prevention, especially tooth decay related to nursing bottles. “It requires a tremendous amount of treatment, and very aggressive, comprehensive treatments,” Souri said. “If (the babies) wake up at night, only [give them] water. No juice, no milk.”
Oral health care can also affect a person’s overall health. Diabetes, heart disease and low birth weight are all linked to poor oral health. “When we work on someone’s mouth, we make the rest of them healthy,” said Francis.
Some of the participants at the Roundtable shared personal experiences with problems accessing affordable oral health care.
“I have dental insurance, but it doesn’t cover enough. I end up spending too much money, so I still avoid going to the dentist,” said Janece Simmons, a Roundtable participant from the West Humboldt Park Development Council.
