10/15: No more toothless Kentuckians

KENTUCKY: No more toothless Kentuckians: State launches childrens' dental health project

Gov. Steve Beshear said the state has a serious problem in dental health, and announced the launch of a three-year, $2.2 million initiative to improve the dental health of children in Southern and Eastern Kentucky.

The initial focus, Beshear said, will be on creating a training curriculum to teach Kentucky dentists effective techniques to work with young children.

Currently, only 28 of the 120 counties in the state have pediatric dentists. A 2001 state survey found that half of Kentucky's children had decay in their primary teeth and that nearly 47 percent of children ages 2, 3 and 4 had untreated dental problems — more than twice the national average.

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