I
ssues and
P
eople
witheither chronic infectionsor acute
exacerbation, kidswith swollen faceswho
can’t eator sleepwell. And there’salso
evidence that chronicpainduringacritical
windowofdevelopment canaffect their
growthanddevelopment.
Doyouhaveacall toaction for individual
dentistsanddental teams?What rolecan
theyplay?
Asaneducatorwho’sbeen teaching the
valueof infantoral healthcare forquite
awhilenow, Imust say it’s frustrating
when I hear aboutparentswhohave
phoned2 to3dental offices to try tomake
anappointment for theirone-year-old
child, but they’re turnedaway. And it’s
alsodisconcerting formymedical
colleagueswho I’ve trained todooral
healthassessmentsand riskassessments;
they identifyan infantwho isathigh risk
andyet theycan’tget them intoadental
office.
Mychallenge togeneral dentists is to
realize that they’repartof abigger system
ofprimarycareproviders. That if you’rea
familydentist, family includeswomb to
tomb—thatmeans infantsandbabies.
General practitionershavea tremendous
advantage ineducatingpregnant
moms, inassessing familiesat riskand
putting inplacepreventivemeasures like
frequentfluoridevarnishapplicationand
motivational interviewing.
Wecan’tprevent everycaseof early
childhoodcariesor severeearlychildhood
caries, butwehave tomeasureour
successes. If counsellingandfluoride
varnishapplications can reduce the
numberof cavities, youmayhave reduced
theburdenof illness, youmayhavekept a
kidoutof hospital.
a
This interviewhasbeencondensedandedited.
Theviewsexpressedarethoseoftheauthoranddonotnecessarilyreflectthe
opinionsorofficialpoliciesoftheCanadianDentalAssociation.
First visit
to thedentist byage1,
orwithin6monthsof
eruptionof first tooth.
CDABESTPRACTICE
