Dental center for low-income kids planned

Taking aim against the most common disease of early childhood, the University of Washington and Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center have announced plans to open a new comprehensive pediatric dental center with room to treat thousands of low-income kids.

The center, to be located at Magnuson Park in a building owned by the UW, will offer routine care and specialty services. It will have 12 dentists, 38 dental chairs and two surgery rooms, with eventual capacity for 40,000 patient visits a year.

The UW will cover $10 million of the $17 million renovation tab. Children's will pay $1 million. Washington Dental Service, the state's largest dental-insurance company, and its foundation have donated another $5 million.

Tooth decay is the most widespread disease among children — and almost entirely preventable, said Dr. Joel Berg, chair of UW's pediatric-dentistry department, who will run the new center.

Cavities can form within a year after a baby's first teeth erupt at 6 months, Berg said. And baby teeth can be particularly susceptible to cavities because of their thinner enamel and because toddlers and preschoolers tend to eat sugary foods and skip regular brushing.

Berg said he often sees 2- or 3-year-olds who have more than a dozen cavities.

"There is no disease in children that happens so fast," Berg said.

Untreated dental conditions can lead to serious infections, speech problems, malnutrition and other health problems.

One of the goals with the new center, to be called the Washington Dental Service Building for Early Childhood Oral Health, is to encourage parents to take children for their first checkup by age 1, Berg said.

The UW's current pediatric dental clinic, located at its School of Dentistry, will close after the new center's opening, now slated for mid-2010. The new center will be equipped to handle cases that the UW can't now, Berg said, such as outpatient oral surgery that requires anesthesia.

A majority of the kids treated at the UW are covered by Medicaid. Berg said he expects the new center to bring in enough income to cover expenses.

Kyung Song: 206-464-2423 or ksong@seattletimes.com