If you want to ensure that your kids have healthy teeth make sure that their first dental visit is as soon as their first teeth sprout, according to UCSF researchers
Fluoride varnish, a dental preventive treatment, reduces the incidence of early childhood tooth decay in combination with dental health counseling for parents, according to a study by investigators at the UCSF School of Dentistry.
The investigators examined cavity-free infants and young children, primarily from low-income Chinese or Hispanic families in San Francisco. All families received counseling on dental health, and children were randomized into three groups: those receiving fluoride varnish twice per year, those receiving it once per year, and those not receiving it at all. Of the initial 376 children enrolled, 280 completed the study.
According to study findings, children who did not receive any fluoride varnish were more than twice as likely to develop tooth decay as the children who were assigned to the annual fluoride varnish group. Children who did not receive fluoride varnish were nearly four times more likely to develop tooth decay than those assigned to receive it twice per year (four treatments over two years).
There are two important points that parents should be aware of as a result of this study, said Jane Weintraub, DDS, MPH, Lee Hysan Professor at the UCSF School of Dentistry and principal investigator of the study. "First, the results support the use of fluoride varnish to prevent tooth decay in very young children. Second, the results support parents bringing children for their first dental visit at age one when they are getting their first teeth."
{{/usCountry}}There are two important points that parents should be aware of as a result of this study, said Jane Weintraub, DDS, MPH, Lee Hysan Professor at the UCSF School of Dentistry and principal investigator of the study. "First, the results support the use of fluoride varnish to prevent tooth decay in very young children. Second, the results support parents bringing children for their first dental visit at age one when they are getting their first teeth."
{{/usCountry}}"Fluoride varnish is relatively inexpensive, easy to brush onto a child's teeth, and can be part of a positive first dental visit to help prevent tooth decay," Weintraub said.
"In contrast, when very young children get cavities, it is difficult for them to sit still for dental treatment. Often, young children needing many fillings receive care in the operating room, at great expense to their family and with the additional risks posed by general anesthesia. We now have an easy, low-cost way to keep teeth healthy," she added.