Oral health is not usually among the highest priorities on early education to-do lists. But, if a child’s teeth are not healthy it can be a drag on development and learning.

Washington state reduced that drag over the last five years, cutting the rate of untreated tooth decay among poor preschoolers in half, a new report found.  (It fell from 26 percent to 13 percent).  In addition, the percentage of low-income children needing some sort of dental care dropped to 12 percent from 23 percent.

While Washington took big steps forward, not all of the report’s findings will make you smile. The state has not made real progress in treating rampant decay among low-income preschool and public school third-grade students, the rate was essentially unchanged - 17 percent in 2010 compared to 16 percent in 2005 - in the former and dropped slightly to 19 percent from 21 percent in the latter.

Plus, children from poor families did not fare as well as those in wealthier homes, reporting more tooth decay, rampant decay and needs for treatment, according to the “Smile Survey 2010.”   Check out the full report, or just the executive summary, here.

Nursing Lowers Blood Pressure: A new study released this week found that breast-fed babies have lower blood pressure than babies fed a specific type of formula, Reuters reports via MSNBC.com.

Breast-fed babies have lower blood pressure and bigger heads than babies fed a specific type of formula when the children are 3 years old, but it's not clear whether these differences persist and whether they have a long-term impact on health. – “What baby eats in first days may impact health later.” 5/3/11.