It is imperative to talk to new parents about oral health and hygiene maintenance for the young one. Establishing a "dental home," in which the child regularly practices proper oral hygiene techniques and visits the dentist for regular check-ups is the key to prevention of future problems in the future. I am currently performing a study on expectant mothers' knowledge of oral health practices for children, and I believe that more educational programs should be established in the future to teach new parents how to make their home a "dental home" for the health and comfort of their families.

I completely agree with you about the urgency of talking to new moms about caring for their infant’s oral cavity. I worked for three years as a pediatric dental assistant before dental school and it was absolutely tragic to see the terrible cases of early childhood caries. Research by Vann et al. (2010) concluded that caregiver oral health literacy has a multidimensional impact on reported oral health outcomes in infants and young children (p.1395). What’s even more alarming is that the dental health of preschool children has enormous implications on the oral health of the individual as he/she grows into adulthood (Prabhu et al., 2013). Other authors have concluded that parents of young children play a central role in enforcing proper oral hygiene and preventive programs (Prabhu et al., 2013). For example, according to research by Prabhu et al. (2013), poor awareness among parents/guardians of preschool aged children’s oral health can directly translate to poor oral health among said children. Research by Naidu & Davis (200 shows how low parental knowledge and poor attitudes towards oral health are associated with higher dental caries prevalence in young children (Naidu & Davis, 200. These are just a few examples of the research that’s been done on the importance of educating parents about caring for their infant’s oral cavity.

I have some experience talking to new mothers about caring for their children's oral health. I volunteered to provide education in a children's hospital waiting room. I spoke to and played with kids and answered questions of new mothers. They were extremely amenable to my advice. Many of them do not even know that frequently exposing their children to sugar could cause major problems. Get the word out!!

I completely agree that this topic is one of great interest in dentistry. Many parents are unaware of the importance of taking care of children's teeth because they are under the impression that they will "just fall out and get new ones". Parent education is key. Bottle decay can lead to many negative consequences down the road and must be discussed as soon as possible. Additional preventative measures should be discussed, such as controlling thumb sucking, implementing oral hygiene, and the importance of fluoride and diet. I feel that most parents I have spoken to respond positively when I bring up these issues and are very appreciative of the information. That being said, I have had a few parents be a little more sensitive about the thumb sucking discussion. Some parents just would rather not fight their child and deal with the negative consequences now (yelling, crying, tantrums). I have found that pictures of open bites formed as a result of thumb sucking and the discussion of multiple phases of orthodontics helps in this case for parent education.

This topic has been of great interest to me recently because I have seen the effects of baby bottle decay in large numbers. This has prompted me to start a program with the local hospital for new moms about the caring for their child's oral health. Has anyone had any experiences (negative or positive) about speaking with new moms about this?