S-3674.1 _______________________________________________
SENATE BILL 6590
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 57th Legislature 2002 Regular Session
By Senators McAuliffe, Rossi and Kohl‑Welles
Read first time 01/22/2002. Referred to Committee on Health & Long‑Term Care.
AN ACT Relating to improving K‑12 preparedness and performance through promoting better oral health; adding new sections to chapter 43.70 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.20A RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that dental problems impede children's success in school and affect their overall health by undermining their nutrition, speech development, concentration, and school attendance. Lack of treatment for dental health issues is estimated to result nationally in a loss of one million six hundred thousand school days annually, according to the national center for health statistics.
(2) The legislature recognizes that, according to a United States Surgeon General Report of 2000: Oral Health in America, dental disease is the most common chronic infectious disease facing our children today and is five times more common than asthma in children ages five to seventeen.
(3) The legislature recognizes that dental disease begins early, with fourteen percent of one and two year olds studied by the state department of health experiencing dental decay. Dental decay prevalence increases with age, affecting fifty-four percent of Washington second graders. Decay in this age group increased between the 1994 and 2000 surveys.
(4) The legislature declares that measures such as oral health screenings and access to oral health disease prevention methods should be readily available to children in a variety of health care settings, including dental, medical clinic, and family physician settings. If prevention methods are employed, there will be substantial savings to the state's overburdened health care system.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 43.70 RCW to read as follows:
The superintendent of public instruction, the department of health, and the department of social and health services are encouraged to collectively and collaboratively develop a plan that promotes age appropriate oral health screenings and preventive services at age one and at age five, or before entering a public or private school setting. The departments may report to the legislature on their findings and recommendations.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 43.20A RCW to read as follows:
(1) The secretary is encouraged to design and implement a program of oral health prevention training sessions for physicians in each county no less than once per year, or at appropriate intervals in counties with lower numbers of resident physicians. This training should be modeled to complement existing mandates for oral cavity exams and be consistent with existing reimbursement for fluoride varnish applications by primary care providers.
(2) Physicians participating in the department training program under subsection (1) of this section shall receive continuing medical education credits for their completion in the program. Credits shall be awarded on a continuing medical education level 1 basis.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 43.70 RCW to read as follows:
The department is encouraged to develop methods for promoting the use of oral health coordinators in local health jurisdictions that currently function without these resources.
--- END ---