By Beth Stewart

[dropcap]Y[/dropcap]es, and here’s why.

Oral health and general health are not separate. Dental care is the most prevalent unmet health need of children in the United States and dental caries (the #1 childhood chronic disease causing tooth decay) is five times more common than asthma. Untreated dental decay can lead to malnourishment, bacterial infections, pain and even death. 

In 2000, the Surgeon General described tooth decay as a silent epidemic. It only makes sense that c...