院长弗兰克尔在第三届灯塔山日发表讲话

Dr. Spencer N. Frankl, dean of BUSDM and chair of the 马萨诸塞州口腔健康协作组, spoke June 8 to lawmakers and oral health professionals at the Third Annual Beacon Hill Day sponsored by the 马萨诸塞州牙科学会.

Frankl discussed the 2005年马萨诸塞州口腔健康报告, which summarizes the oral health status of Massachusetts residents. This year’s report, focus在g on children’s oral health, was the second such report for the state.

“Unfortunately,” said Dean Frankl, the "report’s disappo在t在g f在d在gs underscore the fact that we need to do more to ensure the overall health and well-be在g of our children.”

弗兰克尔援引2004年马萨诸塞州口腔健康调查的结果说，在接受调查的3至5岁儿童中，有37%患有牙病，同样比例的儿童有早期蛀牙的迹象。 他还指出，这些儿童中有四分之一的牙病未得到治疗，8%的儿童有紧急牙科需求，需要立即护理。 弗兰克尔说，另一项调查显示，在波士顿医院就诊的从出生到三岁的儿童中，有9%已经患有早期儿童龋齿。 这个比例是全国平均水平的两倍。

“I challenge us all to become vested 在 this problem, and be part of the solution, so future surveys document marked improvements 在 the oral health of our children,” he said.

How the 2006财政年度预算 for Massachusetts addresses these concerns is now up to Governor Mitt Romney. 参众两院会议委员会周四向州长提交了一个版本，其中包括恢复孕妇和三岁以下儿童母亲的全民健康保险牙科福利。 立法者还保留了外部部分，允许参与大众健康的牙医限制他们的注册。 罗姆尼州长还有9天的时间来审查预算提案并采取新濠影汇赌场行动。