Of the four million children born each year, one million will have had at least one cavity by the time they reach kindergarten — and that number will grow to two million by the second grade. For the first time in 40 years, tooth decay in young children is on the rise, despite the fact that it is 100% preventable. It’s the goal of the Children’s Dental Health Project to turn these numbers around by preventing childhood tooth decay, promoting solutions grounded in the best available research, engaging policymakers and decision makers in addressing inequities in children’s oral health, and assisting in the implementation of cost-effective solutions.

With its $25,000 grant in 2009, the CDHP will expand access to dental care for the fifteen million children newly provided with comprehensive dental coverage by the federal Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP), by providing technical policy assistance to federal and state governments and child advocates as they work to implement eight newly announced CHIP dental provisions. While the new legislation alone creates an excellent opportunity to expand dental care to more children, the work CDHP does with support from the DTAF will transform this opportunity into meaningful services by America’s dentists, benefiting millions of children who would not otherwise have access to quality care.

Learn more about how the DTAF grant is helping CDHP on our news page.