Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Search in posts
Search in pages

Go Home

Cavity Prevention is more Effective and Cheaper than Late Intervention

Nov 4, 2020 | Cases, Health Policy

The Issue You Tackled

Early childhood caries (ECC) – tooth decay among children younger than 6 years – is highly prevalent and consequential in the United States, despite being highly preventable. Forty-four percent of 5-year-olds have cavity experience. ECC manifests frequently as pain and infection and disproportionately affects low income children, leading to avoidable expenditures by Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

The problem facing policy makers is selecting interventions that have greatest potential for reducing both disease and costs.

What You Actually Did

ECC modeling projects span five years and two states, Colorado and New York. These models helped policymakers in both states explore different preventive interventions to determine their potential impact on the percentage of children developing cavities, potential savings from reducing treatment costs, and ratios of treatment cost savings to preventive program costs. Preventive programs simulated included Community Water Fluoridation, fluoride varnish application, motivational interviewing of parents, tooth brushing encouragement, and preventive dental visits and combinations of these and other programs.

The Results

The Colorado model included all children aged 0-5. The New York model represented children covered by that state’s Medicaid program. The models helped policymakers see the alternative benefits of broad-based programs affecting all children (maximum reduction in cavities) vs. programs focused on children at the highest risk of developing ECC (highest return per program dollar invested).

Name Exploring Prevention Strategies for Improving Children’s Oral Health
Modelers Gary B. HirschBurton Edelstein, Marcy Frosh, Jayanth Kumar.
Client/Participant Childen’s DentalHealth Project, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, New York State Department of Health
Client Type Government

Do you want to know more?

Related Publications

A Simulation Model for Designing Effective Interventions in Early Childhood Caries Download
Reducing early childhood caries in a Medicaid population: A Systems Model Analysis Download

OTHER SUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS

Twinings Uses System Dynamics Games to Enhance HR Capability

Twinings Uses System Dynamics Games to Enhance HR Capability “Realistic simulation is a powerful approach to building capability. The business simulation developed [by Dashboard Simulations and Lane4] gave [Twinings staff] an experience that called for them to develop...

RSC Uses System Dynamics to Increase HVACR Sales Against the Tide

RSC Uses System Dynamics to Increase HVACR Sales Against the Tide “Using the proven Strategy Dynamic process focused our limited resources on organizing strategic issues, identifying the critical resources, and developing the insight to more rapidly create intuitive...

Achieving a Polio-Free World Through System Dynamics Simulation

Achieving a Polio-Free World Through System Dynamics Simulation EXECUTIVE Summary This System Dynamics model underpinned a 192 country resolution to eradicate polio globally and led the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to give Rotary International $100 million to...

Upcoming Events

Exploring Careers in System Dynamics

Exploring Careers in System Dynamics

11 am NY | 4 pm London | 12 am Beijing | Time Converter Exploring Careers in System Dynamics Join us for an engaging panel discussion on careers in System Dynamics featuring experts Sharon Els, Eduardo Romanovski, and Georg Pallaske, moderated by Shane Carnohan. This...

Recent Posts

Engaging Younger Audiences in Climate Change Education

Engaging Younger Audiences in Climate Change Education This webinar focused on engaging younger audiences in climate change education using the analogy of a bathtub. Linda Booth Sweeney, a systems educator, and author shared innovative ways to educate children about...

Celebrating Women’s International Day

Celebrating Women’s International Day Over the past several decades, more women have become part of the System Dynamics field, greatly increasing gender diversity in our discipline. We have many amazing, inspiring, brilliant, and visionary female leaders. Today...

Join us

LET US BE PART OF YOUR JOURNEY

Do you want to lead your organization into the future by overcoming paradigms and creating change? With Systems Thinking and System Dynamics you will enable powerful decision-making and find the leverage points to improve profits, strategy, efficiency, sustainability, and more.

Rebecca Niles

Talk with Us

The most efficient way to align your needs with our offerings is to schedule a meeting with our Executive Director, Rebecca Niles

Engage a Systems Consultant

Looking for a Systems Consultant? Fill out this form and we will follow up with a call and, soon enough, the right person for the job.

Experience Systems Thinking

Bring in a facilitator to unleash the power of Systems Thinking in your organization. Fill out this form for a Beer Game facilitator and join the companies, and graduate and MBA programs that play this game all over the world. Contact us if a facilitator for a different game is needed.

WPI System Dynamics Fundamentals micro-course 1

Start Learning

Join the WPI Sytem Dynamics Fundamentals Course to understand the causes of dynamic behavior at a basiic level and much more! The course is self-led and self-paced.