Health News
- Early-childhood Specialists Want To Help Parents Teach Kids Good Oral-health Habits; 40 Percent Have Cavities By Kindergarten
A recent report by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry showed that cavities are the most chronic disease for young children in the U.S. More than 40 percent of children suffer from tooth decay before kindergarten, Greg Stotelmyer reports for Public...
- Brushing Teeth Twice A Day, Two Minutes At A Time, Is The Way To Prevent Cavities, A New Campaign Advises
Kids should brush their teeth twice a day for two whole minutes at a time, a new public-service campaign urges. The ?Kids? Healthy Mouths? campaign includes TV spots, print ads, a website, social media messages and other materials, reports Jennifer LaRue...
- Tooth Varnish Saving Smiles In Clark County
To protect about 3,000 Clark County children from tooth decay, local dentists and volunteers headed to schools to apply a fluoride varnish earlier this month. "We knew this material worked, although it was a new material, and there wasn't a lot of...
- Cavities Can Be Contagious, Researchers Have Found
A new study has found that cavities are contagious. "Just as a cold virus can be passed from one person to the next," so can cavity-causing bacteria that cling to teeth and eat food particles lodged on and between them, The New York Times' Anahan...
- Summit And Local Groups Focus Attention On Oral Health, A Big Problem For Kentucky And One That Can Hurt Overall Health
By Sarah Vos and Al Cross Kentucky Health News When it comes to dental health, Kentucky is down in the mouth. It ranks among the worst in the nation, with high numbers of working adults who don?t have all their teeth, and a high percentage of children...
Health News
More young kids going under anesthesia to fix bad dental problems
Preschoolers are increasingly having to undergo extensive surgery to get fix the cavities they've gotten from lack of brushing, get root canals or have teeth extracted.
Five years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the number of preschoolers with cavities had increased ? the first time that had happened in 40 years. "Dentists nationwide say they are seeing more preschoolers at all income levels with 6 to 10 cavities or more," reports Catherine Saint Louis for The New York Times. "The level of decay, they added, is so severe that they often recommend using general anesthesia because young children are unlikely to sit through such extensive procedures while they are awake." (Times photo by Stuart Isett)
"We have had a huge increase in kids going to the operating room," said Dr. Jonathan Shenkin, a pediatric dentist in Augusta, Me., and a spokesman for the American Dental Association. "We're treating more kids more aggressively earlier."
Causes for the increase can be linked to lots of snacking and juice or other sugary drinks before bedtime; kids drinking bottled water rather than tap water; a lack of knowledge that infants should go to the dentist by age 1 to be assessed for cavity risk.
Parents can sometimes confused dental decay with teething and don't realize there is a problem until teeth break or the pain becomes so bad the child cannot sleep. (Read more)
- Early-childhood Specialists Want To Help Parents Teach Kids Good Oral-health Habits; 40 Percent Have Cavities By Kindergarten
A recent report by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry showed that cavities are the most chronic disease for young children in the U.S. More than 40 percent of children suffer from tooth decay before kindergarten, Greg Stotelmyer reports for Public...
- Brushing Teeth Twice A Day, Two Minutes At A Time, Is The Way To Prevent Cavities, A New Campaign Advises
Kids should brush their teeth twice a day for two whole minutes at a time, a new public-service campaign urges. The ?Kids? Healthy Mouths? campaign includes TV spots, print ads, a website, social media messages and other materials, reports Jennifer LaRue...
- Tooth Varnish Saving Smiles In Clark County
To protect about 3,000 Clark County children from tooth decay, local dentists and volunteers headed to schools to apply a fluoride varnish earlier this month. "We knew this material worked, although it was a new material, and there wasn't a lot of...
- Cavities Can Be Contagious, Researchers Have Found
A new study has found that cavities are contagious. "Just as a cold virus can be passed from one person to the next," so can cavity-causing bacteria that cling to teeth and eat food particles lodged on and between them, The New York Times' Anahan...
- Summit And Local Groups Focus Attention On Oral Health, A Big Problem For Kentucky And One That Can Hurt Overall Health
By Sarah Vos and Al Cross Kentucky Health News When it comes to dental health, Kentucky is down in the mouth. It ranks among the worst in the nation, with high numbers of working adults who don?t have all their teeth, and a high percentage of children...