Child Dentistry
Parents want to be sure to purchase dental coverage that meets the needs of their children. A common question for parents is when coverage should begin. The answer varies, but most doctors recommend that parents begin early. Remember that the health of baby teeth can affect the health of permanent teeth that will replace them. In children, dentists check the placement as well as the health of permanent teeth waiting to replace baby teeth. For this reason, whether families sign on to a group or individual insurance plan, all family members, including young children, need access to sound dental care. In addition to a dental insurance plan, parents need to know the basics involved in caring for a child’s teeth. For example: brushing should begin early and should be done two to three times per day, particularly at night. Browse the articles below to learn more about this and other topics in pediatric dental care.
04/11/2005
"It hurts," complains six-year-old Joel. One hand in his mouth, his round face frowns at Dr. Bernard J. Larson. He was among the first kids to check out the dentists in the room next to the gymnasium. Ten minutes later, kids were lined up two and three across out the door.
"Happens every time," commented a smiling Dr. Larson, pediatric dentist and president of the Mount Baker Dental Society. "It only takes one brave kid to leave here with a goodie bag and everyone's lured in."
But Joel doesn't look brave anymore. He recognizes he may have divulged too much information and looks like he might attempt to escape in the instant before Dr.
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04/11/2005
Children's Dental Health - Early start key to child's oral health
Pat Wolf, community health dental hygienist, shows MacArthur Elementary School kindergartners A.J. Birkholz, Morgan Turner and Taylor Gunn teeth X-rays during their tour of Smith Dental Clinic Tuesday. Lamp photo by Prudence Siebert.
by Smith Dental Clinic
Unfortunately, oral disease is one of the most serious diseases that children have today. The way that children are taught to care for their bodies today will affect their health as adults.
Preventive dental care has dramatically improved the oral health of American children.
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04/11/2005
At first, Ce’Asia Walls’ idea of brushing her teeth was to take a toothbrush in her tiny hands and suck the fruit-flavored paste off the bristles.
She’s a little more advanced now, said her mother, Jacklene Blake of Huntington. At 19 months old, she’s grasped the concept of running it across her front teeth. And she loves it.
When she wants to brush her teeth, she says, "Teeth, Mom," Blake said. Now, her 5-month-old sister is the one who just sucks the paste off the brush.
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04/11/2005
Seek An Oral Health Risk Assessment Establish A "Dental Home" Prevent Dental Caries
February is National Children's Dental Health Month. Sponsored by the American Dental Association, this month is an excellent time to promote dental health in our children.
Dental caries (cavities or tooth decay) are one of the most common infectious diseases in children today. It is estimated that more than 40 percent of children have tooth decay by the time they start kindergarten; cavities are several times more common than asthma or hay fever in children.
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04/11/2005
DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP -
First their eyes were wide open as they looked at the dancing tooth, and then it was time to open their mouths for screenings, cleanings and cavity fillings, if needed.
More than 55 children, ages 12 and under, from Cumberland County and the surrounding area, participated Wednesday in the second "Give Kids a Smile" day in the Cumberland County Technical Education Center's dental assisting lab. A similar number is expected today.
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04/11/2005
Kids Health
By Dr. Catherine McKinley
A Healthy Smile Is Always In Style
Hey, it's February! That means it's National Children's Dental Health Month. This campaign is sponsored by the American Dental Association and aims to promote awareness of the importance of dental health as an integral part of children's general health.
Dental caries, the infectious process of dental cavity formation, is the most common chronic illness of childhood. Thankfully it can be prevented or arrested if caught in the early stages.
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04/11/2005
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports two, three, and four-year-olds had more cavities in 2000 than in 1994 (1) despite 60 years of water fluoridation, 50 years of fluoridated toothpaste and a virtually 100% fluoridated food supply.
Two- to four-year-old's cavity rates increased from 18% in 1994 to 23% in 2000, reports the CDC.
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04/11/2005
Teaching children good dental hygiene is one of the most beneficial things a parent can do. Learning from an early age the importance of brushing and flossing teeth, as well as twice-a-year checkups, is crucial to maintaining those pearly whites.
February is designated as National Children's Dental Health Month by the American Dental Association in an effort to raise awareness for the importance of good dental hygiene, including the use of fluoride, cavity prevention and dental sealants.
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04/11/2005
OAK BROOK, Ill., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Cavities are almost entirely preventable, and a new analysis of dental claims data shows that sealants and professional fluoride treatments play huge roles in helping kids fight tooth decay.
With National Children's Dental Health Month in February, dentists are urging parents to help kids fight cavities. The data from this recent analysis supports what most dentists recommend: Regular cleanings and preventive care.
Analysts from the Data and Analysis Center (DAC) tracked dental benefits claims submitted within the Delta Dental system from 1998 to 2003 for nearly 500,000 children, six to 15 years old.
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04/11/2005
The ideal time is six months after your child's first (primary) teeth erupt. This time frame is a perfect opportunity for the dentist to carefully examine the development of your child's mouth. Because dental problems often start early, the sooner the visit the better. To safeguard against problems such as baby bottle tooth decay, teething irritations, gum disease, and prolonged thumb-sucking, the dentist can provide or recommend special preventive care.
How do I prepare my child and myself for the visit?
Before the visit, ask the dentist about the procedures of the first appointment so there are no surprises.
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04/11/2005
Why is this event so important to area children?
"They don't smile (because they) have open decay showing when they're smiling and (we cannot) have it affect their self-confidence in that way," Dr. Jeter said. "Kids need to be able to grow up as healthy as possible. We want to try to make that possible."
Due to the need for signed permission and other documentation, the event cannot accommodate children who have not been registered in advance.
The GKAS day is an annual program that was started by the American Dental Association in 2002.
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04/11/2005
My son enjoys going to the dentist. He's been twice now and has been a perfect gentleman as they poke, scrub, rinse and launch the typical assault on his teeth. He doesn't so much as flinch. He's even interested in the X-rays.
I, on the other hand, squirm and whine and leave imprints where my hands grip the chair when I'm getting a mere cleaning. If they didn't let me have a shot of laughing gas once in a while, I'd quit going to the dentist all together. I should have gotten suspicious when my first dentist, Dr. Loopey, told me the first whiff of gas is free.
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04/11/2005
Smile.February is National Children’s Dental Health Month
The theme of this year’s
National Children’s Dental Health Month observance, “A Healthy
Smile is always in Style” emphasizes the importance of dental
care and public health education to help keep children’s smiles
beautiful now and for years to come.
State and local dental societies, dental alliances, and county health
departments use the month of February to spend extra time educating
both children and parents about the importance of good oral health.
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04/05/2005
We all know that teens pay close attention to fashion, music and all of the latest trends, but unfortunately most teens don't spend enough time taking care of their teeth and gums.
Cindy Bauer, spokeswoman for the Academy of General Dentistry, said, "Many teens do not see a dentist for regular dental care and some have never even been to a dentist. They don't get the care they need or the proper oral education to make smart decisions on the foods they eat and on how to practice good oral hygiene habits at home.
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04/05/2005
"It's small," said Dr. Heitz, tapping on the tooth to show me the tiny sinkhole in the enamel. "See? I can do it without numbing him."
My mother was terrified of the dentist, as one is instructed to be by "Marathon Man." She couldn't even make the appointments, and so our sober, practical Aunt Helen picked us up from school on dentist day and sat in the waiting room. My mother did not welcome details when we got home, shuddering when we flashed our freshly scraped teeth.
But what if I showed my children the opposite attitude, I wondered, when baby Ezekiel came with me to a cleaning? I made sure to heap Dr.
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04/12/2005
Dentists concur that it’s never too early to begin an oral hygiene regimen for your children. This article explains how to care for a baby’s gums, even before the first tooth appears. Other tips include how to brush a very young child’s teeth, what type of brush to use, when to replace a brush and how long you should monitor your child’s tooth brushing process. The article also explains why bedtime is the most important time for your children to brush and when they should begin flossing.
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06/24/2005
Although tooth decay is not as common as it used to be, it is still one of the most common diseases in children. Many children still get cavities. While fluoridated drinking water and fluoride-containing toothpaste have helped to improve the oral health of both children and adults, regular toothbrushing and a well-balanced diet are still very important to maintaining good oral health.
What is teething?
Primary, or baby, teeth commonly begin to come in or erupt in a baby's mouth at about 4 to 6 months of age and continue until all 20 have come in at around age 2-1/2. Teething is a significant -- and often painful -- event for baby.
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06/06/2005
A collective sigh of disappointment swept through a class of third-graders at McClelland School in Rochester a few weeks ago.
For the last time, Dental Hygienist Bambi Shorey from Frisbie Memorial Hospital's Dental Education Program was standing before them. She had visited the class a dozen times over three years, told them how to brush, floss and eat. Now they would have to remember it for the rest of their lives.
But before the final good-bye, she summarized the lessons. A forest of hands rose for each of her questions.
"How often should you change your toothbrush?" Shorey asked.
"After two to three months," a boy answered.
"Why?
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05/28/2005
Home > Parents & Kids > Opinion & Letters
Sweet child o' mine
By Kathleen McKenna/ day in the life
Friday, May 20, 2005
Today, I took William to the dentist for a routine check-up and cleaning. The hygienist escorted him back to the chair alone, so I enjoyed my 20 minutes in the waiting room with only my magazine for company.
It's a situation I find myself in more and more these days, and I have to say that I love it entirely. For me, seeing my kids march their way onward and upward toward independence is cause for joy, not sorrow.
At least that's what I've always thought.
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05/16/2005
More than half of all five to nine-year-old children have at least one cavity or filling, and over 51 million school hours are lost each year to dental-related illness. So Healthline 3's Beth Fisher headed to a pediatric dentist to learn how early you should be taking your child to the dentist and what parents can do now to help with a healthy smile for years to come.
He's just 13 months old and just learning how to walk, but Connor Palmira is already at the dentist's office. "How you doing buddy? You want to come on back so we can count those teeth today and see how they're doing?" Today, Connor is here to see Pediatric Dentist, Dr.
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05/12/2005
A few years ago, Mexico City dentist Laura Prez de Caso was asked to design an educational program on oral health for migrant families.
At first, she thought the job would be easy, but she later realized that most migrants leaving Mexico have a low educational level, and many don't even know what a cavity is.
"I realized I had to do something very simple," Prez de Caso told an audience of health educators. "The program has to be understood even by a 3-year-old child. It was a hard job to do.
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05/01/2005
Thursday, April 28, 2005 e-mail this story | print it
Check with your dentist on fluoride use
To the editor:
I felt compelled to write in response to the interview with Naomi Malik in the Feb. 23 issue on the subject of fluoride in the drinking water and it's systemic affects.
I am a dentist in the community and realize there can be systemic complications from ingesting too much fluoride, however the amount of fluoride found in the water supply is minimal at 1 part per million, making it extremely difficult to ever reach a toxic level.
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04/21/2005
CHICAGO (March 1, 2005) - Providing proper care and oral hygiene
during preschool years can mean a lifetime of good oral health, according to
a recent article in the January/February issue of General Dentistry, clinical,
peer-reviewed journal of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), an organization
of general dentists dedicated to continuing education.
Research shows that children who develop cavities in their baby teeth are more
likely to develop cavities as an adult. So how can a parent determine if their
child is at risk for cavities? It all begins with that first trip to the dentist.
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