Preventive Child Dental Care
This essentially involves;
What is counseling and advice in child dental care?
What are the maintenance and method of good oral hygiene for child care?
Method
The most accepted method is the sweep and roll method the bristle of the brush is held on the surface of the teeth. It is pressed hard on the surface and on the upper teeth it is swept downwards and on the lower teeth, it is swept upward. It should be emphasized that the mouth should be open during toothbrushing. The tongue, cheek, and palate should be cleaned too. A small pea-side amount of prophylaxis is enough. Tooth brushing is ideally done the last thing in the night and after breakfast the next morning. It can also be done before breakfast as is done in this part of the world.
Dietary control in child care
This is why a reduction in consumption of refined sugar should be emphasized. Parents should make intakes of sweets, such as ice cream and other confectioneries a special occasion and when taken the child should be made to rinse the mouth immediately the use of pacifiers dummies and sugar in formulas should be discouraged or reduced as all these have been incriminated in rampant caries. In taking of sugar in the child should be seriously controlled as the outcome in later years may be very bad.
How to make use of fluoride application?
4. Topical application of fluorides
Forms of this preparation are :
a. Sodium fluoride
b. Stannous fluoride C. Acidulated phosphate fluoride (APF)
THE TECHNIQUES
a. Clean crowns with a rubber cup and fluoridated prophylaxis paste.
b. Add fluoride solution to isolated and dried teeth quadrant by quadrant.
c. Allow teeth to remain moist for 3 to 4 minutes.
d. Use fluoridated dental floss to run through the interproximal space.
e. Acidulated phosphate fluoride can also come in gels. This is applied by the use of special trays for one or both arches in a single procedure.
THE TECHNIQUES
a. Polish teeth throughly with prophylaxis paste.
b. Wash and dry enamel surfaces.
c. Fluoride gel is applied to the tray.
d. Each arch is dried separately before the tray is inserted the trays are then left in place for 4 minutes. A saliva ejector is used to suck saliva.
e. After 4 minutes tray are removed and the excess gel is wiped off with gauze patient should not rinse the mouth for at least 30 minutes.
Other method include:
Flouride mouth rinses: This has been used extensively and successfully in school in Europe. It is in form of solution used to rinse the mouth at a particular period of the day.
Dentrifices: Tooth pastes this is the commonest mode of fluoride application in third world countries.
If there is other method please feel free to let us know by commenting.
Related
REFERENCES
- Dye BA, Thornton-Evans G, Li X, Iafolla TJ. Dental caries and sealant prevalence in children and adolescents in the United States, 2011-2012. NCHS Data Brief 2015; :1.
- Kelly JE, Harvey CR. Basic data on dental examination findings of persons 1-74 years. United States, 1971-1974. Vital Health Stat 11 1979; :1.
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