local news
Benefits
Mission of Mercy
million treating Washington children for
dental disease, according to DSHS.
Currently, “almost 40 percent of the state’s
children start kindergarten with tooth decay,
and nearly 14 percent of all kindergarten
children have untreated tooth decay,”
according to the Smile Survey 2010: The
Oral Health of Washington’s Children.
Also, a report from the National Maternal
and Child Oral Health Resource Center
found that “painful dental disease can have
long-lasting and damaging impacts on chil-
dren’s development. It can keep children
out of school,
disrupt
their
sleep,
erode
their self-esteem
and make it
harder for them
to pay attention
and learn in the
classroom.
It
also can lead to
a lifetime of
unhealthy adult teeth and expensive dental
treatments.”
“Pregnancy is one of the best times to
address oral health because it is when moth-
ers are most receptive to health messages
that benefit themselves and their families,
according to Riter. “It’s also an important
period because research suggests that poor
oral health may affect blood pressure during
pregnancy and birth outcomes, which can
also increase Medicaid costs.” Medicaid
pays for nearly half of all births in
Washington.
“Low-income pregnant women are more
susceptible to dental disease and eliminat-
ing their care only means spending more
public money in the coming years, when
small problems these women couldn’t get
treated become emergencies and their chil-
dren develop cavities that could have been
easily prevented,” said Dr. Martin
Lieberman,
dental
director
for
NeighborCare Health, a provider of medical
and dental care for low-income people in
Seattle. “If they eliminate this cost-effective
care, legislators will be penny wise and
pound fool-
ish.”
Investing in
prenatal den-
tal care helps
c o n t r o l
Medicaid
costs among
low-income
families, Riter
said, who are
at a higher risk for dental problems in ways
that also include fewer emergency room
visits from uninsured patients who need
medical attention due to dental issues.
Research also shows that dental costs are
nearly half for Medicaid-insured children
who visit the dentist by the time they turn a
year old, than for children who have their
first visit between ages 4 and 5 ($263 com-
pared to $546) according to the American
Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. “Children
who receive early preventive care are less
likely to need subsequent costly restorative
Dental disease can have
long-lasting and damaging
impacts on children’s
development
PHOTO bY SuSan fried
continued from page 1
The Oregon Dental Association Mission of Mercy brought 1900 volunteer
dentists, hygienists and translators to the Oregon Convention Center Nov.
21-22. The mission provided free dental care to 2000 adults and children
without dental insurance. Full story online at theskanner.com
or emergency visits,” it said.
“Taking care of women’s oral health dur-
ing pregnancy results in healthier moms and
children,” said Dr. Russell Maier, Clinical
Professor in the Department of Family
Medicine at the University of Washington
and Chair of the Washington Dental Service
Foundation Board of Trustees. “Prevention
improves health and saves money. That is
why dental care for low-income pregnant
women must not be eliminated.”
The special legislative session which will
address nearly $2 billion in budget short-
falls will begin Nov. 28 and can legally go
on for 30 days.
traci tate is a student in the university of
washington Department of Communication
news laboratory.
Treatment
continued from page 1
ing, child welfare and addictions treatment. But don’t
expect any changes in the legal status of drugs.
“The president is very clear that he opposes legalization
and he opposes decriminalization,” Kerlikowske said. “But
he has clearly instructed us to use a science-based
approach.”
The highest rate of illicit drug use is among 18 to 22
–year-olds with more than one in five using some sub-
stance. The most commonly used illegal substance is mari-
juana, with 17.4 million users, followed by prescription
drugs with 7 million non-prescribed users. Almost 52 per-
cent of U.S. adults, 131 million people, drink alcohol.
The high numbers of people who use some kind of drug
recreationally translates into considerable opposition to
drug control. That’s reflected in the music we listen to, the
comedians we laugh at, and the movies we watch. Even
President Obama has admitted to smoking pot and snorting
a few lines of coke in high school. And President George W.
Bush got a DUI, admitted to a drinking problem, and has
been accused of covering up an alleged 1972 cocaine pos-
DRUGS AND CRIME
Number of people incarcerated: 2 million
Number on probation or parole: 5 million
More than 50 percent of state and Federal inmates used
drugs during the month before committing their offense
Nearly 33 percent of state prisoners and a 25 percent of
federal prisoners were using drugs at the time of the
offense
FAMILIES
Parental substance abuse is the main reason given for
children being removed from their homes in 33 percent
of cases involving babies under one year
For children ages 2 to 8 that’s true in 25 percent of
cases.
HEALTH
In 2009 the Centers for Disease control tallied 24,263
from alcohol and 37,495 deaths from drugs (although
the figures don’t distinguish between legal and illegal
drug use)
More than10 percent of HIV infections come from IV
drug use
session arrest.
To make a dent in those numbers, the Obama administra-
tion is putting its weight behind prevention and treatment.
Last year’s budget allocated $10.4 billion for drug preven-
tion and treatment programs compared to $9.2 billion for
drug enforcement. Whether treatment overall is expanding
or not is questionable, since the economy has seen state
budgets for treatment being pared to the bone.
Redonna K. Chandler MD, a top researcher at the
National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), said only 7.6 per-
cent of the 5 million adults who need treatment for sub-
stance abuse receive that help. In prison, large percentages
of inmates need treatment but only 21 percent get any serv-
ices.
“Treatment is necessary to try to alleviate the
connection between drug abuse and crime. We
know that lengthy terms of incarceration and
boot camp without treatment, have not been
effective, because they don’t get at the underly-
ing root causes of addiction disorders. We also
know that lengthy periods of incarceration
where people are forced to abstain from drugs is
no substitute for treatment.”
When prisoners do receive treatment, it needs
to be followed up with treatment in the commu-
nity after release, Chandler said. One program in Delaware
showed 70 percent of former prisoners who received com-
prehensive treatment services remained arrest free, com-
pared to 30 percent of those who had no treatment.
Kerlikowske said drug abuse and addiction damages
health, destroys families and drives crime, as well as cost-
ing us $193 billion annually in lost productivity, health
problems and incarceration. The cost for the criminal jus-
tice system alone is $56 billion.
Mandatory minimum laws passed in many states have
made reducing those numbers difficult, even though pre-
vention and treatment have proved to be cheaper and more
effective, he said.
“Particularly with addiction, putting someone away for a
longer period has no benefits,”
Recent changes in law and policy will help reduce the dis-
proportionate impact on African American and Latino com-
munities, the former Seattle police chief said, pointing to
last year’s Fair Sentencing Act, which removed some of the
extra penalties for crack users. Crack users used to be sub-
ject to sentences 100 times more severe than powder
cocaine users. Now, that sentencing differential has been
reduced to 18 -1.
Another key part of the new strategy is to push for states
to fund more drug courts. Drug courts are far cheaper than
incarceration, and have demonstrated success. The evi-
dence shows that treatment works no matter whether it is
chosen or court ordered.
Kerlikowske also highlighted the Second Chance Act,
saying it will improve success rates for felons returning to
the community. The law supports funding for re-entry pro-
grams such as: substance abuse treatment; family programs,
mentoring and employment programs. As a result, the
Department of Justice last year awarded $183 million in
grants for 296 state and local reentry programs. Felons face
too many barriers and too much stigma, he said.
Treatment is necessary to try to
alleviate the connection between
drug abuse and crime
“These are things we have got to break down because if
we don’t make it easier for people to reenter then they will
end up back in the corrections system,” he said.
Attorney General Holder recently wrote to state attorneys
general asking them to review state laws for barriers to re-
entry. And Housing and Urban Development Sec. Sean
Donovan wrote to local housing authorities to clarify the
rules on housing felons.
Contrary to widespread myth, many felons could be
offered public housing. Confusion over the law has led
some housing authorities to deny all felons. In fact, only
felons convicted of manufacturing methamphetamines and
registered sex offenders are barred by law from public
housing.
The goals of Kerlikowske’s five-year plan include, reduc-
ing youth substance use and drug deaths by 15 percent and
reducing drugged driving by 10 percent. Tools to achieve
these goals include early intervention programs run by
healthcare workers, diversion programs for non-violent
drug offenders and expanded access to treatment.
The National Drug Control Strategy for 2011 says, for
See TreaTmenT on page 8
november 23, 2011 The Portland Skanner Page 3