Talking to new moms about caring for their infants oral cavity
09:12 PM | Jun 13,2015
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.