Overview of Need
The Arizona Department of Health Services, Office of Oral Health conducted an oral health survey of Arizona children from 1999-2003. The survey included approximately 14,000 children in kindergarten through third grade. The report, The Oral Health of Arizona's Children reports the findings from that survey and demonstrates that too many children suffer from tooth decay.

What is the oral health of my community?
The Oral Health of Arizona's Children showed that dental decay is pervasive across Arizona. Subsequent issue briefs published by the Arizona Department of Health Services, Office of Oral Health, look at the data on a state and county level to show the severity of dental disease and identify any disparities in oral health status.

• Children's Oral Health in Arizona
  
  
• The Severity of Tooth Decay in Arizona's Children
  
  
• Oral Health Disparities in Arizona's Children

Download the report

For a comprehensive list of oral health indicators by community, go to http://www.azdhs.gov/cfhs/ooh/index.htm.

Testimonials
Have you benefited from volunteer dentistry? What made you realize the importance of oral health to overall health? Why do you think it is important to improve oral health? Has your life changed because of the dental care you or your child received?

Share your story about the impact of oral health on you or your community.

Although much of this site is focused on increasing access to clinical dental care, that alone will not improve the oral health of your community. There needs to be a comprehensive integrated approach to address the many of factors of dental disease including:

• Environment (access to community water fluoridation, number of dental providers, transportation)
  
  
• Personal or social norms/behaviors (daily oral hygiene care, diet, oral health IQ, transmission of disease, values about oral health)
  
  
• Political (funding, support for community water fluoridation, competing interest groups, scope of dental practice)
  
  
• Economic (availability/access to dental insurance, costs associated with delivering dental treatment)

The improvement in oral health for children is not a task that can be accomplished by any single agency, be it the Federal government, State health agencies, or private organizations. This website is the result of a partnership between many organizations, working together to improve oral health.