Infant Oral Health Care: An Early Preventive Approach to Dental Caries

TARGET GROUP: INFANTS

OBJECTIVES

·        To identify early dental problems and to educate the family about early oral preventive health care. To identify, intercept and modify the potentially harmful parenting practices that may adversely affect infants’ oral health.

·        To provide parent education right from prenatal period highlighting the importance of their role in the prevention of dental disease for their child.

·        To evaluate the oro-facial development and oral healthcare to help break the cycle of early childhood caries, to provide optimal fluoride protection and to use anticipatory guidance to arm patients in therapeutic alliance.

SUMMARY

Infant oral health care is the foundation on which a lifetime of preventive education and dental care can be built up in order to help acquire optimal oral health right up to childhood and adulthood. Early childhood caries (ECC) and the more severe form of ECC , beginning soon after tooth eruption develops on smooth surfaces, progresses rapidly, and has a long- lasting detrimental impact on the dental health. Caries in primary teeth can affect children's growth, result in significant pain, and diminish overall quality of life. In 1986, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) adopted the first infant oral health-care policy statement approach. It has been twenty five years since the inception of this policy. This paper collectively reviews the guidelines adopted for infant oral health and steps taken in early prevention of dental caries.

REFERENCE

https://www.oraljournal.com/pdf/2020/vol6issue2/PartG/6-2-58-444.pdf