February is National Children's Dental Health Month

The #1 chronic disease of childhood is Dental Caries – which is defined as bacterial damage to tooth structure.

What comes to mind as your calendar flips to February 1^st? This month is not only reserved for frosty winter snowflakes and Cupid’s arrows: it is also National Children’s Dental Health Month! You can raise awareness about the #1 chronic disease of childhood: Dental Caries – which is defined as bacterial damage to tooth structure. You can have influence in a child’s life by taking a moment to share the importance of oral hygiene for overall health and wellbeing.

Here are some fast facts to keep in mind this month:

• If they can tie their shoes, they can brush their teeth! Of course, an adult should do a final check and sweep to get to those hard-to-reach places. Brushing twice a day is easier by putting on a favorite tune to brush for two minutes!
• Sugary snacking is NOT a bug's best friend! Encourage little ones to eat healthy snacks and beverages and avoid snacking often between meals.
• Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is 32 times more prevalent in children from low socioeconomic circumstances. ECC can affect overall growth, cause pain, infection and missed school days.

As a dental student at Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine in Stony Brook, NY, and former Southern Vermont Area Health Education (AHEC) CSHIP intern, I have learned from the best pediatric hygienists and dentists. During my time assisting the hygienist who is providing free dental cleanings in rural daycares and creating dental health education videos, I have seen first-hand how oral health care reminders can encourage little ones to take care of their teeth. These experiences have supported me as I have started to see my own pediatric patients in dental school.

Feeling eager to make a difference this February? Get a head start! A child’s first dental visit should be within six months of the first tooth poking through. Establishing a dental home for children early on can help minimize fear, shift focus from treatment to preventative care, and avoid emergency care settings. Reach out to the caregivers of little ones in your circle of friends and family and offer to provide oral health instruction in your community. My classmates and I have started an annual tradition at our local library: tabling and providing oral health activities during the week of February school break.

February is the shortest month of the year – there is no time to waste when it comes to children’s oral health!

Written by Eve Pomazi, a second-year dental student at Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine and former CSHIP intern with Southern Vermont AHEC.