Summer is a time when kids might get away with less sleep and eat fewer meals, but it’s not a time dental health should be ignored. In 2016, Missouri’s Kids Count found that 73 percent of the state’s kids had teeth considered in excellent or very good condition. Program director Tracy Greever-Rice says that’s despite the fact that Missouri has an aging dental workforce and a limited number of dentists in rural areas.
Greever-Rice also notes that Missouri’s low-income kids often lack accessibility to a dentist. In 2016, Missouri had about 48 dentists per 100-thousand people, which is below the national average of 60-point-eight; and ranked 41st in the U-S for the number of residents who saw a dentist. Kids Count is a project of the Family and Community Trust supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.