State health officials started the Smiles for Ohio fluoride varnish program to cover kids up to 3 years old.
State health officials started the Smiles for Ohio fluoride varnish program to cover kids up to 3 years old.
Dentist: Children suffering due to Medicaid's low reimbursements
Will a child's death change dental policy?
By Anthony Gottschlich
Staff Writer
Sunday, December 07, 2008
A two-minute dental procedure this summer may have saved little David Chase-Martin III a mouthful of troubles in the years to come.
In the 19-month-old's first visit to the Children's Health Clinic at Children's Medical Center of Dayton, a pediatrician — not a dentist or hygienist — brushed a coat of raspberry flavored fluoride varnish on each of the toddler's 17 teeth.
"He didn't like being held down, but he was all smiles and grins after that," said David's mom, Sarah Chase of Dayton.
Tooth decay remains the single most common childhood disease nationwide, five times as common as asthma, experts say. It's also on the rise among children 2-5 years old, according to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control. Delaying dental visits and putting children to bed with a bottle or sippy cup are leading culprits, dentists say, but so is the lack of dentists who will treat children on Medicaid.
That's why in 2006 the Ohio Department of Health came up with the Smiles for Ohio fluoride varnish program, which targets children covered by Medicaid from the time their first tooth arrives until their third birthday. The state trains physicians and other primary care providers to apply the varnish, which studies show can reduce (and in some cases reverse) tooth decay by 25 percent to 45 percent.
Children's Health Clinic started offering the service in April this year to its new and existing patients, said Dr. Roberta DiLego, the pediatrician who applied David's varnish this summer.
"One of the reasons we wanted to do the prevention in this clinic is that not only do we serve our patients but we teach (medical) residents, who will then graduate from the program and be able to go into the community, take this knowledge with them and practice prevention in their own practices," DiLego said.
Such efforts, she said, will help parents understand that oral health is critical piece to overall health.
"I think it's absolutely wonderful," Sarah Chase said. "It'll make it easier on moms to do two things at once — getting their kids checked out as well as making sure their teeth don't rot in the long run."
Taking care of your kids' teeth
Fill sippy cups with water only. Children shouldn't sip on sugary drinks or munch on sugary foods for extended periods of time. If you do provide sugary drinks in sippy or other types of cups, instruct children to finish them quickly.
Don't let children go to sleep with bottles. Even milk can cause tooth decay. If you do put your child to sleep with a bottle, it should contain water only.
Limit candy, sweets and the time it takes for kids to consume them, and make sure children brush afterward.
Brush after meals and snacks and floss daily.
For more information, visit www.aapd.org.
In Ohio 91% on mains water are fluoridated.
Dentist: Children suffering due to Medicaid's low reimbursements
Will a child's death change dental policy?
By Anthony Gottschlich
Staff Writer
Sunday, December 07, 2008
A two-minute dental procedure this summer may have saved little David Chase-Martin III a mouthful of troubles in the years to come.
In the 19-month-old's first visit to the Children's Health Clinic at Children's Medical Center of Dayton, a pediatrician — not a dentist or hygienist — brushed a coat of raspberry flavored fluoride varnish on each of the toddler's 17 teeth.
"He didn't like being held down, but he was all smiles and grins after that," said David's mom, Sarah Chase of Dayton.
Tooth decay remains the single most common childhood disease nationwide, five times as common as asthma, experts say. It's also on the rise among children 2-5 years old, according to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control. Delaying dental visits and putting children to bed with a bottle or sippy cup are leading culprits, dentists say, but so is the lack of dentists who will treat children on Medicaid.
That's why in 2006 the Ohio Department of Health came up with the Smiles for Ohio fluoride varnish program, which targets children covered by Medicaid from the time their first tooth arrives until their third birthday. The state trains physicians and other primary care providers to apply the varnish, which studies show can reduce (and in some cases reverse) tooth decay by 25 percent to 45 percent.
Children's Health Clinic started offering the service in April this year to its new and existing patients, said Dr. Roberta DiLego, the pediatrician who applied David's varnish this summer.
"One of the reasons we wanted to do the prevention in this clinic is that not only do we serve our patients but we teach (medical) residents, who will then graduate from the program and be able to go into the community, take this knowledge with them and practice prevention in their own practices," DiLego said.
Such efforts, she said, will help parents understand that oral health is critical piece to overall health.
"I think it's absolutely wonderful," Sarah Chase said. "It'll make it easier on moms to do two things at once — getting their kids checked out as well as making sure their teeth don't rot in the long run."
Taking care of your kids' teeth
Fill sippy cups with water only. Children shouldn't sip on sugary drinks or munch on sugary foods for extended periods of time. If you do provide sugary drinks in sippy or other types of cups, instruct children to finish them quickly.
Don't let children go to sleep with bottles. Even milk can cause tooth decay. If you do put your child to sleep with a bottle, it should contain water only.
Limit candy, sweets and the time it takes for kids to consume them, and make sure children brush afterward.
Brush after meals and snacks and floss daily.
For more information, visit www.aapd.org.
In Ohio 91% on mains water are fluoridated.
posted by Bill at
9:40 AM
1 Comments:
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By
BrioII, at 08 December, 2008
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