JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
February is Children’s Dental Health Month and parents need to
know what to look out for to make sure their children have great dental health.
Teaching children about taking care of their teeth can be
challenging, but it’s important to ensure a good foundation for building
lifelong habits of oral hygiene and health for them as they grow up.
Although there’s a common misconception about infants and
toddlers teeth being less important than adult teeth since they aren’t
permanent, this idea can lead to harmful conditions in a child’s mouth
including Early Childhood Caries.
ECC is when one or more baby teeth in a child zero to
six-year-old’s mouth is decayed, missing due to decay or has had a filling. The
tooth decay is caused by bacteria that live in our mouths. The main source of
food for this bacteria is sugar. When the bacteria eat sugar, they produce an
acid that can break down the surface of the teeth.
Here are some tips to prevent ECC in your child and give
them a head start in oral hygiene:
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Take your children to early and regular dental
exams. A baby’s first dental appointment should be scheduled within six months
of their first tooth, but no later than their first birthday.
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Minimize saliva-sharing activities between
parents/caregivers to limit bacteria transmission.
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Don’t put your children to bed with a bottle of
milk, formula or juice. The sugars in these drinks can sit on your child’s
teeth all night and cause decay.
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Limit snacking on simple carbohydrates such as
cereal, crackers, cookies, white bread and Gatorade. These have sugars that
feed the cavity causing bacteria in the mouth.
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Brush or rinse your child’s teeth after
administering sugary medications.
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Brush your child’s teeth twice a day with
fluoridated toothpaste
“This is important because it prevents bacteria from
continuing to grow, which may eventually lead to other dental diseases,” said
U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Michelle Newman, Tignor Dental Clinic NCO in
charge at Fort Eustis.
Keeping your children’s teeth clean is important, but dental
health also includes checking for injuries.
If a parent knows their child was injured in the mouth, they
should check for bleeding, tooth displacement, tooth fracture or persistent
pain. If any of these symptoms are visible, a visit to the dentist is
appropriate. The dentist will be able to establish a baseline for the tooth in
case of future changes. It’s common for a baby’s tooth to turn gray after being
hit, but should not be of worry.
For children with permanent teeth, chipping while being
injured is common. If a parent can locate the chipped part, they should take it
with them to a dentist appointment because it may be bonded back on.
Permanent teeth can also fall out due to injury. In this
case, a parent should take proper measures to possibly save the tooth:
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Act quickly and make sure the tooth spends as little
time possible outside of the mouth.
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Do not scrub off any dirt from the tooth because
the tooth has cells on the root that are vital for the tooth to be reattached. The
scrubbing can remove these cells. Gently rinse the tooth if needed and place it
back in the tooth socket.
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Have your child gently bite down on a cloth to
stabilize the tooth in its proper position and get to the dentist as soon as
possible.
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If a parent is uncomfortable with any of these
procedures, put the tooth in milk and get to the dentist as soon as possible.
With these tips, parents can better understand how to handle
certain scenarios and potentially save their child’s tooth.
Since the clinics on JBLE only see active duty, service members
are encouraged to enroll their family members in the TRICARE Dental Program
with United Concordia at www.tricare.mil/tpd, www.uccitdp.com or call
1-844-653-4061.
For more information on children’s dental health contact the
Langley Dental Clinic at 225-7630, Option 1 then Option 2 or Fort Eustis at
314-8015 or 314-7925.
(Editor’s note: portions of this article were provided by
633rd Medical Group)