South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control

We promote and protect the health of the public and the environment.

• Advisory Council & Coalition
• Curricula
• Data & Reports
• Early Childhood
• Fluoridation
• Infection Control
• Oral Cancer
• Pregnancy
• School Programs
• Screenings
• Sealants
• Special Healthcare Needs
• State Oral Health Plan

Data and Reports

• Oral Health Factsheets
  Information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a variety of dental topics
• Surveillance for Dental Caries, Dental Sealants, Tooth Retention, Edentulism, and Enamel Fluorosis --- United States, 1988--1994 and 1999—2002
  Provides latest statistics on tooth decay, use of dental sealants, total tooth loss, and enamel fluorosis in U.S. children, adolescents, and adults.
• State Health Workforce Profiles
  This site provides data on supply, demand, distribution, education, and use of health professionals. Estimated numbers of workers indicate the size of the state's health work force. Per capita ratios facilitate comparisons with other states and the nation.
• National Oral Health Surveillance System—NOHSS
  This site allows users to view tables, graphs, and maps of oral health indicators by state. Oral health indicators include dental visits, teeth cleaning, complete tooth loss, fluoridation status, caries experience, untreated caries, dental sealants, and cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx.
• Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System-BRFSS
  A yearly telephone survey of American households which gathers information on a variety of health topics. Information is reported by state. Oral health questions were asked in 2001, 2003, and 2005, and are included on the 2007 survey.
  
• Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System—YRBSS
  A yearly survey of high school students, to evaluate their risk behaviors (tobacco and alcohol use, sexual activity, diet and nutrition, and other health behaviors that are established in high school).
• Factsheet: CSHCN (not available at this time)
• Factsheet: Dental Injury (pdf)
• Factsheet: Dental Sealants (pdf)
• Factsheet: Early Childhood Caries (pdf)
• Factsheet: Oral Cancer (pdf)
• Factsheet: Low Birth Weight (pdf)
• Factsheet: Tooth Decay (not available at this time)
• South Carolina and Community Water Fluoridation (pdf)
• South Carolina Central Cancer Registry-SCCCR
  The SCCCR is a population-based data system that collects cancer incidence (newly diagnosed cases) in South Carolina. Data in a central cancer registry are used to study trends in how often cancers occur in a defined area, changes in diagnosis and treatment patterns, and patients' survival rates. Information on cancer mortality (deaths) is collected by the Division of Vital Records and published by the Division of Biostatistics within DHEC. Includes the Oral Cancer Registry.
• State Report on Oral Cancer (pdf)
• The Burden of Oral Disease in South Carolina (pdf)
  A comprehensive review of the burden of oral disease in the state of South Carolina.
• 2002 Oral Health Needs Assessment (pdf)
  Results of the statewide survey of oral health in kindergarteners and third graders.
• SCAN
  A collection of data gathered from birth and death records, census information, and state health registries.  Interactive tables are created by the user.
• Oral Health in America:  A Report of the Surgeon General
  On May 25, 2000, Surgeon General David Satcher released Oral Health in America:  A Report of the Surgeon General.ThIS report has helped frame the science on vital health issues in a way that have helped educate, motivate and mobilize the public to more effectively deal with those issues. In addition to a lack of awareness of the importance of oral health among the public, the report found a significant disparity between racial and socioeconomic groups in regards to oral health and ensuing overall health issues. Based upon these findings, the Surgeon General called for action to promote access to oral health care for all Americans, especially the disadvantaged and minority children found to be at greatest risk for severe medical complications resulting from minimal oral care and treatment.
• National Call To Action To Promote Oral Health
  A follow up report to Oral Health in America:  A Report of the Surgeon General (2000) that describes how groups at local, state or regional levels were doing or could do to resolve the issues. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.  NIH Publication No. 03-5303, Spring 2003.
• MCHB Meeting: Early Childhood Caries
  In addition to a lack of awareness of the importance of oral health among the public, the report found a significant disparity between racial and socioeconomic groups in regards to oral health and ensuing overall health issues. Based upon these findings, the Surgeon General called for action to promote access to oral health care for all Americans, especially the disadvantaged and minority children found to be at greatest risk for severe medical complications resulting from minimal oral care and treatment.
• MCHB Meeting: Dental Sealants
  Summary of recommendations by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Washington, DC) for the use of sealants to protect molars from decay. Final compiled sealant meeting summary 9-8-06
• Healthy People 2010 Report
  In 1979, the Office of the Surgeon General released the first Healthy People report, which was updated in 1980 with a series of goals for improving the nation’s health by 1990.  The goals were updated in 1990 and 2000, and the current document is Healthy People 2010, which lists several hundred objectives for improving the nation’s health.  These objectives are broken into 28 focus areas, including sections on Oral Health, Maternal and Child Health, Tobacco Use, and HIV/STD Prevention. Chapter 21 focuses on oral health specifically.
• Guide to Children's Dental Care in Medicaid (pdf)
  An overview of the Medicaid program and how it applies to dental careThe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a new Guide to Children's Dental Care in Medicaid, the first update of policy information on preventive and treatment services for low-income children in more than 25 years.
• Oral Health for Children and Adolescents with Special Health Care Needs: Challenges and Opportunities (pdf)
  
• Strategies for Improving the Oral Health System of Care for Children and Adolescents with Special Health Care Needs (pdf)
  A list of strategies to improve the oral health of CSHCN
• South Carolina Dental Workforce Presentation (ppt)
  A Powerpoint presentation on the characteristics of the dental workforce in South Carolina.
• Bright Futures: The SC Story (pdf)
  A report on how South Carolina’s Bright Futures program improved the oral health of children statewide
• More Smiling Faces in Beautiful Places Final Report (pdf)
  The “More Smiling Faces in Beautiful Places” program was funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  The program successfully increased access of oral health care by Medicaid recipients and children with special health care needs.
• Analysis of BRFSS Oral Health Questions, 2001-2003 analysis across time (pdf)
  A look at responses to the oral health questions on the BRFSS survey for three consecutive years.
• BRFSS Analysis, 2001-2006 (pdf)
• Oral Health and Pregnancy - PRAMS Report (pdf)
• South Carolina Takes Action: State Plan for Cancer
  A specific section of this plan is dedicated to Oral Cancer.   
• State Plan for Action: Cardiovascular Disease
  A plan dedicated to improving cardiovasuclar disease in South Carolina.
• South Carolina Takes Action: State Plan for Obesity
  South Carolina's plan to make improvements in obesity.
• State Plan for Action: CSHCN (not yet available)
  State Plan for Children With Special Health Care Needs
• Healthy People Living in Healthy Communities (pdf)
  A summary of the current state of public health in South Carolina, including information on the state strategic plan objectives and progress toward meeting those objectives.        
• Catalyzing Improvements in Oral Health Care: Best Practices from the State Action for Oral Health Access Initiative (pdf)
  The State Action for Oral Health Access initiative, launched in 2002 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was designed to address the disparities in access to dental services for low-income children and adults. The initiative, managed by CHCS, funded six states – Arizona, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Vermont – to develop programs to improve the oral health delivery system. This report highlights the successes, challenges, and results of these state efforts to eliminate disparities in oral health care and improve the lives of millions of Americans.