USA - University Of Maryland Dental School Helps Doctors, Nurses Halt Infant Tooth Decay
University Of Maryland Dental School Helps Doctors, Nurses Halt Infant Tooth Decay
Main Category: Dentistry
Article Date: 22 Jul 2009 - 2:00 PDT
Across the state of Maryland, there are now doctors and nurses, freshly trained in pediatric dental health care, who can help stem an alarming number of 3-year-old children who arrive for their first dentist visit with teeth "just melting away."
Many children are not seen by a dentist until they are age 3, says Norman Tinanoff, DDS, MS, professor at the University of Maryland Dental School. "And among those in low socioeconomic status, there is also often inadequate dental health education," says Tinanoff.
Dental caries disease starts in infants, as the cavity-causing bacteria are transferred from mothers. National surveys from 1988 to 2004 showed a sharp rise in the prevalence of dental decay in U.S. poor children under age 5.
More than 400 physicians and nurse practitioners who participate in the Maryland Medicaid Program have received training in infant and toddler dental health care through a program run by the Dental School. The training and Medicaid certification will directly lead to more young children being referred to dentists and introduced early in life to oral health care, says Tinanoff, who is program director of the Dental School's Department of Pediatric Dentistry.
The training allows the physicians and nurse practitioners to be certified by Medicaid and then reimbursed for providing fluoride varnish treatments after conducting oral health assessments for young children and toddlers. The program Maryland's Mouths Matter: Fluoride Varnish and Oral Health Screening Program for Kids began July 1 and covers children who are Medicaid recipients, ages 9 to 36 months, during their Medicaid scheduled well-child visits.
"If [dental caries disease] is not caught early, this is risky business," says Tinanoff. "We have parents come in [to the Dental School public clinic] and say my child's teeth are just melting away. A child with dental caries is not easy for the parent. It's not easy for me. It's not easy for the child."
In addition to applying the fluoride varnish--a highly accepted decay prevention tool--physicians and nurses in the program can provide oral health screenings, risk assessments, and oral health guidance for parents or legal custodians..
Maryland is 94% fluoridated : NYSCOF
Main Category: Dentistry
Article Date: 22 Jul 2009 - 2:00 PDT
Across the state of Maryland, there are now doctors and nurses, freshly trained in pediatric dental health care, who can help stem an alarming number of 3-year-old children who arrive for their first dentist visit with teeth "just melting away."
Many children are not seen by a dentist until they are age 3, says Norman Tinanoff, DDS, MS, professor at the University of Maryland Dental School. "And among those in low socioeconomic status, there is also often inadequate dental health education," says Tinanoff.
Dental caries disease starts in infants, as the cavity-causing bacteria are transferred from mothers. National surveys from 1988 to 2004 showed a sharp rise in the prevalence of dental decay in U.S. poor children under age 5.
More than 400 physicians and nurse practitioners who participate in the Maryland Medicaid Program have received training in infant and toddler dental health care through a program run by the Dental School. The training and Medicaid certification will directly lead to more young children being referred to dentists and introduced early in life to oral health care, says Tinanoff, who is program director of the Dental School's Department of Pediatric Dentistry.
The training allows the physicians and nurse practitioners to be certified by Medicaid and then reimbursed for providing fluoride varnish treatments after conducting oral health assessments for young children and toddlers. The program Maryland's Mouths Matter: Fluoride Varnish and Oral Health Screening Program for Kids began July 1 and covers children who are Medicaid recipients, ages 9 to 36 months, during their Medicaid scheduled well-child visits.
"If [dental caries disease] is not caught early, this is risky business," says Tinanoff. "We have parents come in [to the Dental School public clinic] and say my child's teeth are just melting away. A child with dental caries is not easy for the parent. It's not easy for me. It's not easy for the child."
In addition to applying the fluoride varnish--a highly accepted decay prevention tool--physicians and nurses in the program can provide oral health screenings, risk assessments, and oral health guidance for parents or legal custodians..
Maryland is 94% fluoridated : NYSCOF
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