WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) today introduced new bipartisan legislation, the Promoting Dental Health Act, to reauthorize funding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Oral Health program for the next five years. The Oral Health program receives $20.5 million in annual funding for a range of public health activities to promote oral health. This funding is allocated to 20 states to prevent cavities, gum disease, and other painful and serious conditions, including by supporting dental education, data collection, school-based sealant care for low-income children, state fluoridation efforts, workforce development, and research into gaps in patient care.
Currently, Illinois does not receive any of the $20.5 million in direct grants, due to the fact that the Oral Health program is not adequately funded to serve every state. However, 2.8 million Illinoisans live in communities with a shortage of dental providers, and only 37 percent of children covered by Medicaid have a dental visit in a given year. One study found that it is nearly six times easier for a child with private insurance to get an oral health care appointment than those who have Medicaid.