South African Dental Association Gauteng South Branch

PAEDODONTICS is also known as PAEDIATRIC DENTISTRY.

It deals with oral health care for children and adolescents.

Paedodontics begins with INFANT ORAL HEALTH CARE.

Infant oral health care is the foundation upon which preventive education and dental care are built. It is hoped that this care will enhance the opportunity for a lifetime free from preventable oral disease.

EARLY CHILHOOD CARIES is the most common oral disease.

Nearly half of the children in modern populations have caries (TOOTH DECAY) by the time they reach kindergarten. Early childhood caries can be a particularly virulent form of caries that begins soon after tooth eruption. It can develop on smooth surfaces of teeth, it progresses rapidly, and it can have a lasting detrimental impact on the teeth and other oral tissues.

WHAT IS DENTAL CARIES?

Caries is a disease that is mostly preventable. It results from an overgrowth of specific organisms that are part of normally occurring oral bacteria in humans. We call this PLAQUE. The bacteria in plaque produce chemicals that change sugars into acid. High caries rates occur in families and usually are passed from generation to generation. The children of mothers with high caries rates are at a higher risk of caries.

WHICH CHILDREN ARE LIKELY TO GET CARIES?

Caries affects the general population and is much more likely to occur in infants of those who are less privileged and less educated. Caries in primary teeth can affect children's growth, result in significant pain and potentially life-threatening infection, and diminish overall quality of life.

HOW MAY PARENTS AND PAEDIATRIC DENTISTS PREVENT CARIES?

General dental guidance for the young patient (0 to 3 years of age) includes the following:

Oral hygiene : Cleansing the infant's teeth as soon as they erupt with either a washcloth or soft brush will help reduce bacterial colonization. The use of dental floss is important to help reduce caries that occurs on the surfaces of teeth that touch adjacent teeth.

Diet : After the eruption of the first primary teeth, the prevention of early childhood caries is possible by restricting bottle feeding and/or breast-feeding to normal meal times. Infants should not be allowed to feed at will or while sleeping. The parents' understanding of the potential of certain foods such as sugars, that cause caries to occur, can help the infant and child to eliminate or to reduce their caries levels.

Fluoride : Optimal exposure to fluoride is important to all infants and children who have teeth. Caution is indicated in the use of all fluoride-containing products. Decisions concerning the administration of additional fluoride are based on the unique needs of each person.

(Adapted from American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry website)