Your child’s teeth are susceptible to decay
the moment they emerge from underneath the gumline. This is why it is important
to establish preventative measures early in your child’s life. Vargas, Crall,
& Schneider (as cited in Guzmán-Armstrong, 2005) state, tooth decay
(caries) among children is the most common childhood disease in the United
States. Often early childhood caries are
caused by factors such as high sugar intake and a lack of brushing. These
habits have been shown to negatively impact a child’s quality of life in areas
such as sleep, weight, and social interactions (Acharya and Tandon, 2011).
There are preventative measures that can be
taken to prevent early childhood caries.
For example, the American Academy of Pediatrics (2011) recommends that
children visit the dentist within their first 12 months to provide parental
education and assess the caries risk of the child. Studies such as that conducted
by Wagner, Greiner, and Heinrich (2014), support this recommendation with
evidence indicating children whose parents had received oral health care
instruction from dental health educators within the first week of birthing, had
a significant reduction in the occurrence of caries compared to those of the
study’s control group. The American Dental Association (ADA) guidelines for
child oral healthcare outline additional preventative measures such as:
• Preventing the transmission of
bacteria from the mother to the child via saliva.
• Establishing daily brushing and
flossing routines
• Avoid filling the bottle with liquids
such as juice and soft drinks.
• Limiting daily bottle usage.
For more information on how to prevent
tooth decay in your child, please visit your nearest dentist for an oral health
evaluation and education on preventative measures that you can establish in
your household. www.akhealthcareamerica.com
References
Acharya,
S., & Tandon, S. (2011). The effect of early childhood caries on the
quality of life of children and their parents. Contemporary Clinical Dentistry, 2(2), 98-101.
doi:10.4103/0976-237X.83069
Anne
Rowan-Legg. (2013). Oral health care for children - a call for action. Paediatrics & Child Health, 18(1),
1.
Baby Bottle Tooth Decay (2014,
April). Retrieved from
http://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/b/baby-bottle-tooth-decay
Do,
L. G., & Spencer, A. (2007). Oral health-related quality of life of
children by dental caries and fluorosis experience. Journal of Public Health Dentistry, 67(3), 132-139.
doi:10.1111/j.1752-7325.2007.00036.x
Guzmán-Armstrong,
S. (2005). Rampant caries. The Journal of
School Nursing, 21(5), 272. doi:10.1622/1059-8405(2005)21[272:RC]2.0.CO;2
Healthy
Habits (2014, April). Retrieved from
http://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/babies-and-kids/healthy-habits
Wagner,
Y., Greiner, S., & Heinrich‐Weltzien, R. (2014). Evaluation of an oral
health promotion program at the time of birth on dental caries in 5‐year‐old
children in vorarlberg, austria. Community
Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, 42(2), 160-169. doi:10.1111/cdoe.12072