Number of Kansas Children Screened for Dental Disease

Students are screened through a state uniform school screening process for four focus areas consisting of treated decay, untreated decay, selants present, and urgent care needed.  The screening process allows KDHE to collect a snapshot of the oral health status of students in Kansas.  It also informs and directs the state's outreach services, provider referrals, parent/patient oral health/dental disease education opportunities, and collaboration with school administrators and school nurses regarding access to dental care.  Data collected from school screenings allows KDHE to identify areas of high needs within the state in order to direct and inform programs, policy and funding opportunities.

In some cases, quarterly data has been annualized to provide a better comparison to prior fiscal years.  Generally, measures that use percentages have been annualized.  This prevents distortions in the quarterly data that may occur because of smaller populations sizes.  Measures that show the numbers of incidents, activities or individuals reflect actual numbers for the quarter.  This allows users to see progress from one quarter to the next towards identified goals.