关键词：儿童；慢性疾病；牙齿保健；牙科
摘 要：According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tooth decay affects children in the United States more than any other chronic infectious disease. Untreated tooth decay causes pain and infections that may lead to other serious problems. Dental care visits are important to prevent and treat tooth decay and other dental problems in children. This Statistical Brief presents estimates based on the Household Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS-HC) on the advice given by a doctor or other health provider to the parents of children for their dental checkups and frequency of childrens actual visits to the dentist. All differences between estimates noted in the text are statistically significant at the 0.05 level or better.