So, how does poor oral health affect your child’s learning or performance in school? Dental disease is one of the top causes of absenteeism among elementary school children. The Office of the U.S. Surgeon General calls dental and oral diseases a “silent epidemic.” The report stated that nearly 52 million hours of school are lost each year due to dental-related illness. The symptom that goes hand-in-hand with dental disease is pain. Pain from oral disease will keep students from concentrating and learning. Any kind of pain or discomfort around the head will be a big distraction and keep their mind from focusing on the tasks at hand, like math, science, English, history, etc. Pain and swelling are both symptoms of severe disease. Sadly, these severe cases are common in our classrooms.