Pediatricians should include oral health assessment, maintenance, and anticipatory guidance in their care of young children, a new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends.
Pediatricians should include oral health assessment, maintenance, and anticipatory guidance in their care of young children, a new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Oral Health recommends.
Dental caries is the most common chronic disease of childhood and it hasn’t decreased in prevalence over the past decade in children aged 2 to 4 years unlike in older children, the policy statement notes. Because children see the pediatrician more often than the dentist at these ages, pediatricians need to know about the disease process that causes caries; how to prevent dental caries; and what measures doctors and families can take to maintain and restore dental health.
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The policy statement offers a number of specific recommendations, including that pediatricians:
For decisions about fluoride administration and supplementation, pediatricians can refer to the AAP clinical report, “Fluoride use in caries prevention in the primary care setting.”
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