Oral health in children — guidelines for pediatricians

Abstract

Dental caries in the primary dentition can have significant damaging effects on a childs growth due to impairment of oral functions. Since the first encounter of a child to a medical environment is often through pediatricians and medical practitioners, it is important that they be aware of the prevention of oral disease that begins early in life. The aim of this article is to diminish the existing ambiguity among pediatricians and medical practitioners regarding oral disease and its prevention.

Infant Oral Health

“…Mothers with dense salivary or plaque reservoirs of S. mutans are at high risk for transmitting the microorganism to their infants early-in-life [54].…”

“…Anticipatory guidance is the process of providing practical, developmentally appropriate information about children's health to prepare parents for the significant physical, emotional and psychological milestones [43,53]. Anticipatory guidance encompasses 3 types of responsibilities: (1) gathering information, (2) establishing a therapeutic alliance, and (3) providing education and guidance [43,54].…”

“…The rationale of prenatal oral health counseling is to generate awareness among expectant mothers about dental disease, its prevention and the means to promote good oral health in the infant [54]. A mother's DMFS scores, education, and feeding habits are strong risk indicators for the colonization of caries-related micro-organisms and ECC [55].…”

“…Enamel hypoplasia may result in a rough enamel surface which can result in areas more prone to plaque accumulation and resultant caries [57,59]. Thus, expecting mothers should be advised to optimize nutrition during the third trimester and the infant's first year, when the enamel is undergoing maturation [54]. Recent literature also reports an association between periodontitis in the mother and preterm birth [60] and between S. mutans levels in mothers and caries experience in their children [42].…”

“…Evaluation of the oral status of expectant mothers followed by pre-and perinatal counseling regarding the expectant mothers' nutrition, oral hygiene, caries experience and KAP regarding infant feeding practices can have a significant impact on the child's caries rate in the future [54]. A dental home can address these needs, if developed at the prenatal stage itself.…”