The Dental Home
From the policy statement of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) supports the establishment of a dental home for all infants, children, adolescents, and persons with special health care needs. The dental home is inclusive of all aspects of oral health that result from the interaction of the patient, parents, non dental professionals, and dental professionals. The dental home is initiated by the identification and interaction of these individuals, resulting in a heightened awareness of all issues impacting the patient’s oral health. This concept is derived from the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) definition of a medical home which states pediatric primary health care is best delivered where comprehensive, continuously accessible, family-centered, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally-effective care is available and delivered or supervised by qualified child health specialists.
Children who have a dental home are more likely to receive preventive and routine oral health care. Referral by the primary care physician or health provider has been recommended, based on risk assessment, as early as 6 months of age, 6 months after the first tooth erupts, and no later than 12 months of age. Furthermore, subsequent periodicity of future reappointments is based upon risk assessment. This provides time-critical opportunities to implement preventive health practices and reduce the child’s risk of preventable dental/oral conditions or disease.
When a child is seen early before there are dental problems, the visit can be a fun visit. The child and parent are introduced to the dental office in a playful manner. An evaluation of the child's oral health is accomplished and a risk assessment is performed. If there are any dental anomalies guidance can be given to the parent to prevent dental areas and developing malocclusions.
Early childhood caries is an infectious disease and totally preventable. The bacteria are transmitted from mothers to infants and decay is passed on to the children. Proper diet, fluoride dosage, and oral hygiene procedure can minimize the bacteria in the child's mouth. Studies also show that 3-5 exposures of 100% xylitol containing mints or chewing gum by the mother can have a great impact on lowering the parents and child's dental caries potential.
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