Abstract
Dental caries in young children remains a public health problem particularly for children whose families are socioeconomically deprived. A child's first dental visit should be at approximately 12 months of age and this should facilitate the provision of anticipatory guidance concerning oral health and dental development to the child's parents/guardians. Compliance with dietary advice is of key importance and motivational interviewing shows promise in relation to parents adopting good oral health practices for their children. Twice daily toothbrushing using toothpaste that contains in the range of 1000- 1500ppmF is a most important preventive measure. It is important to use a minimal amount of toothpaste, insure that it is not swallowed, have parental or adult supervision during toothbrushing and avoid rinsing with water following brushing with toothpaste. The professional application of topical fluoride varnish twice yearly is a proven caries preventative measure. The application of pit and fissure sealants to teeth with deep pits and fissures is recommended.
Highlights
Health may be defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease [1]
High dose fluoride toothpastes, containing 2800 ppmF, are available on prescription in the UK and are recommended for twice daily use in children aged 10 years and over who are assessed to be at high risk of developing caries [9]
Pubic health programmes for very young children with supervised nursery school toothbrushing have resulted in a reduction in dental caries in the west of Scotland [14], and preventive measures, including twice yearly topical application of fluoride varnish by paediatricians, have been valuable for children in primary care settings in the USA [15]
Summary
Health may be defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease [1]. It is recommended that parents and parents-to-be should be informed, encouraged and hopefully motivated to prevent the development of dental caries in their infants and young children.
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