Parents and caregivers are the first defense in helping prevent tooth decay in the Kyrene Corridor’s youngest children and, of course, their counterparts nationwide.
With February having rolled around as National Children’s Dental Health month, it’s a time during which dentistry professionals endeavor to focus attention on the topic.
Dr. Stacy Tracy and Dr. Roxanne Huber of Tempe
Smile Design don’t want to let the month slip by unnoticed.
There are events sponsored by the Arizona Dental Association, such as “Give Kids A Smile,” she says, that provide dental treatment to children who cannot get the care they need at different times and locations during the month.
Adds Tracy:
“There are so many important reasons to keep children’s primary or “baby teeth” healthy. These serve many key functions besides making the child look good and presentable in society.”
Also, she notes, these teeth act as space maintainers for the permanent ones waiting to erupt. “If these are prematurely lost, permanent teeth will not have space to erupt properly, causing malocclusion (a bad bite) later in life.”
Some of the primary teeth are not naturally lost until the child is between 10 and 12 years old, sometimes older, and it would be problematic for them to lose one of those teeth when they were 5 or 6 because they are not restorable, according to Tracy.
Sealants can be placed on newly erupted permanent molars around the ages of 6 and 12 to prevent chewing surface decay, which is the most common dental decay. But this can only happen if the child is seen early enough.
Early visits to the dentist prevent pain and swelling, which affects the child’s day to day activities, including school attendance, notes Tracy.
“We follow the ADA and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentists recommendation that children be seen as early as 1 year old by their dentist,” she said.
“This visit serves many purposes. It gets the child familiar with coming to the dental office, we get a chance to look at the teeth as they are newly erupted to check for future eruption problems and bite issues, talk about oral habits such as pacifier use and thumb sucking and the damage they cause if they go on too long.
“We are able to educate the parents about how to properly care for their child’s newly erupting teeth so as to prevent future problems.”
Proper brushing- and flossing-education are given. Baby teeth need to be flossed just like permanent teeth.
According to Tracy, fluoride use and toothpaste are recommended, and decisions are made as to whether a child needs fluoride supplementation or not.
“You would be surprised how many adults do not know that their child needs to brush morning and night just like the parents.
“They should not be put to sleep with a bottle so that milk sits on their teeth all night. Milk is very good for tooth health, but it breaks down to a sugar and should not be allowed to stay in the mouth for long periods of time.”
Tempe Smile Designs is at 1712 E. Guadalupe Road. Phone: 480-829-8200.
