children

Grant Awarded to Help Improve How Primary Care Doctors Apply Fluoride Varnish on Kids Teeth

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A grant in the amount of $424,000 was awarded for researchers at Kennesaw State University in Georgia to study how flouride varnish is applied to kids teeth. The grant was awarded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in particular to explore how pediatricians apply fluoride varnish to kids teeth. The grant is for a three year period of time. It is the first NIH grant awarded soley to Kennesaw State. Fluoride varnishis applied to help reduce decay for both primary teeth and permanent teeth and thus can help improve oral health. In the U.S. insurance pays for pediatricians to apply fluoride varnish to young children. Even so it has been reported that only 4% of pediatricians report regularly applying fluoride varnish to the primary teeth of infants and children. Due to affordability issues many children particulary under three years … Read more

Should we Remove Wisdom Teeth Before Bone Disease Therapy?

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An interesting article titled “Pediatric-Antiresorptive Use: Should We Intervene on Third Molars Early?” written by Michael J. Cimba and et al. appears in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (vol. 79, pp. 1817−1818, 2021). The article seeks to address if oral surgeons should consider preventatively extracting wisdom teeth in children before they start bone disease therapy to prevent jawbone destruction. In the article the authors discuss how removing wisdom teeth that have not yet fully developed in children before they begin antiresorptive therapies may prevent them from developing medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ). MRONJ, a progressive death of the jawbone, is a side effect of antiresorptive therapy such as bisphosphonates and denosumab, which are drugs used to treat bone (osseous) diseases and cancer-related conditions. It is well known that dental extractions like removing wisdom teeth can increase the risk … Read more

Improving the Oral Health of Children

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An interesting article titled “Childhood lasts a lifetime” written by Benjamin appears in the British Dental Journal (Apr. 20, 2018). The article discusses the epidemic of child tooth decay in the United Kingdom (UK) and that good oral health is important for children. In the article the author states “A child’s early years are crucial to her or his long-term mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. So it’s important to remember that everything we do affects children; how we treat them, how we speak to them, what we feed them, how we teach them to take care of their bodies. All of this matters to help children to develop into fit and healthy adults.” In the article the authors mentions some troubling statistics in the UK. One in four children suffer from tooth decay by the age of five and tooth … Read more

Updated Sedation Guidelines in Dentistry for Children

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Recently new guidelines have been issued regarding the use of sedation for dental procedures performed on children. In the past on this site some scrutiny has been placed on sedation provided to children during dental procedures because of many deaths that have occurred, see for example What to Ask the Dentist Before Children Have Sedation and Pediatric Dental Death in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada Spurs Comments on Dental Anesthesia. In the June 2019 edition (vol. 143, no. 6) of Pediatrics in an article titled Guidelines for Monitoring and Management of Pediatric Patients Before, During, and After Sedation for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Procedures written by Coté and Wilson updated guidelines for the use of sedation in dentistry is provided. These guidelines were updated for the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) for the first time in … Read more

How to Safely Remove Your Teeth

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Both adults and children need teeth removal at one point. For children, it is a normal and natural process. Sometimes for adults, it is due to problematic teeth or health conditions. Tooth extraction is a delicate process that requires the attention of a trained dentist. For children, you are advised to let the teeth to completely become loose and fall out by itself or have the dentist remove it. Here are some tips when it comes time to remove your teeth: 1. Removing Teeth in Children This is a natural process that happens to every child. According to dentists, you should not try to hurry the process. The teeth will become loose and fall out by themselves or with a little assistance. Trying to pull the teeth too early will cause too much pain for the child. It may also … Read more