Caring for the health of our children's teeth
Most adults realize having strong, healthy teeth is important. But did you know that having healthy baby teeth is just as important? Childhood tooth decay may result in pain and infection. Pain impacts your child's ability to chew, sleep, and concentrate at school. Active decay also increases the risk of cavities in adult (permanent) teeth.
The good news is childhood decay is very preventable, but it does require a few good daily habits such as daily brushing with a fluoride toothpaste and healthy feeding practices.
Dental and oral health for children
My Northern Health regional dental program colleagues and I work to educate parents and caregivers to prevent decay in children's teeth. We offer oral health instruction, feeding tips, and fluoride varnish applications. We want to teach the public how the systemic use of water fluoridation improves the dental health of a community. Finally, we teach community partners and other health care providers prevention strategies to ensure that good dental messaging is being presented by all sorts of different people and different professions involved in the care of our children. Our partners are nurses, early childhood care providers, and parent groups - and our education helps to ensure that they have accurate dental messages to provide to their community.
For many families in our region, it isn't always easy to access a dentist's office. My colleagues and I in Northern Health's dental program aim to encourage a family's relationship with a dentist and support the parent or parents to make changes that can reduce the risk of tooth decay for their child. We offer free dental assessments and fluoride varnish applications to children ages 0-6. The fluoride varnish helps to stop or lessen tooth decay and is used by Northern Health to reduce the rate of childhood cavities.
Since joining the dental team in the spring of 2016, I have come to realize how great the needs concerning early childhood caries are. From 2010-2014, for example, 1,504 children in Northern BC required treatment in hospital operating rooms for dental work. This is three times higher than the provincial average and uses valuable hospital time and resources.
Fluoride varnish clinics
I provide fluoride varnish clinics two times a month at the Terrace Health Unit and once a month at the Kitimat Health Centre. Come see me! In addition, I am available to do clinics at other locations and provide education for parent groups and caregivers. My greatest reward is being able to offer encouragement to those who need it, providing advice on changing a habit, or having a reluctant child get to the point where they can have a complete exam and any necessary dental work done in a dental office instead of in the hospital!
I hope that by sharing what I've learned and what I do with the dental team, I will motivate parents and those involved with caring for our children to value children's dental health. Modelling good behaviours and providing daily brushing with a fluoride toothpaste can result in better dental and oral health for children.
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