New Hampshire health officials say the state's oral health is improving but geographic and socioeconomic disparities still exist.
The Department of Health and Human Services this week released a report on oral health in the state and the existing capacity to meet the state's needs. It found that between the 2001 and 2014 school years, the rate of untreated cavities among third graders dropped by 62 percent, and the proportion of students with sealants to prevent bacteria-causing cavities increased by a third.
The rate of cavities among all third graders was 35 percent, but it jumped to 53 percent in schools where more than half the population receives free or reduced price lunches. In the northernmost county of Coos, the rate was 56 percent.