In 5 plus years of watching the dental profession continuously reach all new lows, the Pew Institute never disappoints in its complicity.
Every year, in January and February – sometimes well into March – The Phew (Pew) Institute issues some research or report - usually landing them an audience on Capitol Hill – in which they give reason and need for the latest and greatest scam cooked up by the dental community. This year is no different.
For the last several months I’ve been inundated with information about the “Sealant” scam and how it’s being used to inflate profits while endangering dental health of children. While many may believe this blog is laser focused on papoose boards and stainless steel crowns, don’t be fooled, I hear about ALL kinds of scams!
While I’m going to leave the reporting of the “Sealant Scam” to the professional news people, I’m going to say there is one and the Phew Institute is once again showing evidence of how it they give the scam a façade of legitimacy. Amazing how every time Pew and the scams correlate.
The Phew Report for 2013
Many States are Missing an Opportunity to Prevent Tooth Decay and Reduce Medicaid and Other Health-related Costs
- Contact Matt Jacob 202.540.6310
January 8, 2013
Pew’s 50-state report finds that most states are not doing enough to use a proven strategy for preventing tooth decay, unnecessarily driving up health care costs for families and taxpayers.
Introduction: Grading the States
In both 2010 and 2011, the Pew Children’s Dental Campaign released reports grading all 50 states and the District of Columbia on children’s dental health, relying on eight evidence-based policies that cover prevention, financing, and workforce issues. However, this year, Pew’s 50-state report focuses on prevention, examining states’ efforts to improve access to sealants for low-income kids.
Pew’s grades are based on four indicators that should be a key part of any state’s prevention strategy:
- having sealant programs in high-need schools,
- allowing hygienists to place sealants in school-based programs without requiring a dentist’s exam,
- collecting data regularly about the dental health of school-children and submitting it to a national oral health database, and
- meeting a national health objective on sealants.
Overall State Grades
In the map below, states were given specific points for each benchmark, and grades—on a scale of A to F—were based on the total points earned. Learn more about how each state performed in our state fact sheets.
