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Regular Session, 2013 ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 106
BY SENATOR THOMPSON
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request that the Department of Education and Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education endeavor to expand and enhance oral health education in
Louisiana's public schools.
WHEREAS, tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease, yet
fewer than half of the low-income children in Louisiana who are Medicaid-eligible actually
see a dentist in any year; and
WHEREAS, numerous studies have shown systemic associations between a variety
of diseases of the mouth and afflictions in other parts of the body, including connections
between periodontitis (gum disease), diabetes, and strokes; and
WHEREAS, the consequences of poor oral health also include a host of conditions
associated with poor nutrition, lost productivity due to pain, and even the possibility of death
from untreated infections or oral cancer; and
WHEREAS, the educational objectives for public elementary and secondary school
curricula established by the Department of Education known as Grade Level Expectations,
or GLEs, which schools must follow in designing their curricula, do presently include an oral
health education component; and
WHEREAS, the GLEs only apply at the kindergarten level, where they deal almost
exclusively with brushing teeth, and at high school grade levels, but only in rather vague and
insignificant terms; and
WHEREAS, the American Dental Association and Louisiana Dental Association,
through their Children's Oral Health Education Initiative (COHEI), have identified a number
of oral health education resources appropriate for, and beneficial to, children and have
expressed a willingness to identify and develop more; and SR NO. 106 ENROLLED
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WHEREAS, the Louisiana Legislature hereby recognizes that good oral health is
essential to good overall health and that comprehensive oral health education, especially in
children's formative years, is a vital aspect of ensuring the development of optimal habits
of good oral hygiene and ongoing preventive care, including regular visits to a dentist.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby urge and request that the Department of Education and Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education, availing themselves as necessary of resources obtainable through the
Louisiana Dental Association, endeavor to expand and enhance oral health education in
Louisiana's public schools through a greater emphasis on, and more comprehensive
curricular requirements for, oral health care education, with a goal of all Louisiana children
possessing a fundamental working knowledge and understanding of basic oral hygiene,
effective preventive strategies, and common oral diseases and their consequences before all
their permanent teeth have erupted.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
state superintendent of education and the president of the State Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE