Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/tips-from-the-tooth-fairy/5023890/
Nearly 40 percent of preschool children under the age of five are suffering from tooth decay, making it the most chronic childhood disease in America today (Washington Oral Health Coalition Committee, Spokane Regional Health District Smile Survey). It is the number one reason for absenteeism from school and the third reason children under age five enter the emergency room. In 2010, the American Dental Association declared tooth decay a national epidemic. Yes, I said epidemic, and yet it’s entirely preventable.
As an early childhood professional and community health specialist, I advocate for children’s oral health and am passionate about every child’s happy and healthy smile. And while I recognize that few people like to go to the dentist, cavities (caries) are no fun! Caries are infecting our children’s mouths and ruining their smiles. Tooth decay is detrimental to a child’s overall health — both physically, socially, and emotionally. Cavities are expensive to treat. Most people don’t realize that an untreated oral infection can be life-threatening. The death of a 12-year-old Maryland boy, Demonte Driver, made headlines in 2007 when he lost his life as a result of an abscessed tooth.
Families face a number of challenges in addressing their children’s ...