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Arizona Earns a ‘B’ for Children’s Dental Health

Arizona earns a 'B' for the state of children’s dental health, according to a recent report by The Pew Center on the States. The study measures states against the national benchmarks for 8 policy approaches to dental health, including the share of residents on fluoridated community water supplies and the share of high-risk schools with sealant programs. Arizona met 5 of the 8 benchmarks this year, an improvement from 2010. However, the state’s future performance on the share of dentists’ median retail fees reimbursed by Medicaid may be jeopardized by recent funding cuts.

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Higher Unemployment Levels Lead to Increased AHCCCS Enrollment

As of December 1st 2010, there were 1,347,614 Arizona residents enrolled in AHCCCS programs. While this is a decrease of 19,533 (or -1.4%) over a year ago, it is still a 24.8% increase since the beginning of the economic downturn in December 2007. Total AHCCCS enrollment has been relatively stable for the past few months. The reasons for this are unclear since we know that economic conditions are still poor and many are experiencing hardship.

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Arizona’s Health

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Tooth decay is the most common disease of childhood — five times more common than asthma. For every child without medical insurance, there are nearly three children without dental
insurance.

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The Pew Center on the States, The State of Children's Dental Health

Health is a priority issue for many Arizonans, and will continue to be so as our population grows and ages. Quality, access to, and costs of health care regularly rank near the top of surveys of most important issues in the state.

This section provides information on patterns and trends in the health status of Arizonans ranging from cigarette smoking and the prevalence of diabetes to incidence of childhood drowning. Health indicators are collected by various agencies on different timelines and for different jurisdiction types. The information presented here is the most current available and reflects the time period and jurisdictions used by each source.