Preventative Dental Care Legislation Will Not Just Help California’s Children Smile

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

In the Democratic weekly radio address Assemblymembers Mary Hayashi (English) and Tony Mendoza (Espanol) talk about Assembly Bill 834, which will help thousands of California’s children and their parents smile--but will do a lot more.

AB 834, authored by Assemblymember Hayashi, was approved by the State Legislature on bipartisan votes and is currently on the Governor’s desk. If the Governor signs the legislation, thousands of children will get better preventative dental care, saving them from potentially expenses medical problems. In the radio address Assemblymembers Hayashi and Mendoza say, quote, “AB 834 protects children’s health, saves the state money and increases school attendance while successfully enabling thousands of children to smile proudly with a set of clean teeth. I suspect that would make a lot of teachers, parents, and the public smile, too."

For more information regarding AB 834 click here. Complete transcripts are below.

You may listen in English or Spanish.

Hello, this is Assemblymember Mary Hayashi.

Earlier this year, a 12-year old Maryland boy died – because of a toothache.

His parents had trouble finding a Medicaid provider that would treat him, and his tooth decay problems soon became an infection that spread to his brain.

But not before $250,000 of emergency medical work was performed.
In the wealthiest nation in the world, this shouldn’t happen, but all too often, preventive dental care is simply not available for our children.

For this reason, I have authored Assembly Bill 834, a bipartisan bill that will strengthen the California Children’s Dental Disease Prevention Program, an effective but underfunded state program that promotes preventive dental care for 300,000 low-income students.
Under current law, the state will only reimburse dental professionals $10 per child’s dental check up, allowing for only the most cursory care.

AB 834 lifts the $10 per child reimbursement cap, allowing the California Dental Disease Prevention Program to offer the most effective preventative services -- particularly sealants that significantly reduce tooth decay.