[Childrens Dentistry - West Cobb]

NBC Nightly News and The Today Show to Air Pediatric Dental Decay Story
As a continuation of today's story in the New York Times, NBC Nightly News will run a segment tonight on the increase in dental decay rates in preschool children. Brian Williams, the anchor and managing editor at NBC Nightly News was so moved by this piece that he mandated the station air their own segment tonight at 6:30 p.m. EST. In addition, The Today Show will also air the story tomorrow morning, narrated by Nancy Snyderman, chief medical editor for NBC News.


Parents: Please pass this article along:

http://www.nytimes.c...anted=1&_r=1

Preschoolers in Surgery for a Mouthful of Cavities

By CATHERINE SAINT LOUIS

SEATTLE — In the surgical wing of the Center for Pediatric Dentistry at Seattle Children's Hospital, Devon Koester, 2 ½ years old, was resting last month in his mother's arms as an anesthesiologist held a bubble-gum-scented mask over his face to put him under. The doctors then took X-rays, which showed that 11 of his 20 baby teeth had cavities. Then his pediatric dentist extracted two incisors, performed a root canal on a molar, and gave the rest fillings and crowns.
Devon's mother, Melody Koester, a homemaker from Stanwood, Wash., and her husband, Matthew, an information technology manager, said they began worrying about brushing Devon's teeth only after Mrs. Koester noticed they were discolored when he was 18 months old. "I had a lot on my mind, and brushing his teeth was an extra thing I didn't think about at night," she said.
The number of preschoolers requiring extensive dental work suggests that many other parents make the same mistake. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted an increase, the first in 40 years, in the number of preschoolers with cavities in a study five years ago. But dentists nationwide say they are seeing more preschoolers at all income levels with 6 to 10 cavities or more. 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.
There is no central clearinghouse for data on the number of young children undergoing general anesthesia to treat multiple cavities, but interviews with 20 dentists and others in the field of dental surgery suggest that the problem is widespread.
"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."
But such operations are largely preventable, he said. "I have parents tell me all the time, 'No one told us when to go to the dentist, when we should start using fluoride toothpaste' — all this basic information to combat the No. 1 chronic disease in children."

Dentists offer a number of reasons so many preschoolers suffer from such extensive dental decay. Though they are not necessarily new, they have combined to create a growing problem: endless snacking and juice or other sweet drinks at bedtime, parents who choose bottled water rather than fluoridated tap water for their children, and a lack of awareness that infants should, according to pediatric experts, visit a dentist by age 1 to be assessed for future cavity risk, even though they may have only a few teeth.
And because some toddlers dislike tooth-brushing, some parents do not enforce it. "Let's say a child is 1 ½, and the child screams when they get their teeth cleaned," said Dr. Jed Best, a pediatric dentist in Manhattan. "Some parents say, 'I don't want my little darling to be traumatized.' The metaphor I give them is, 'I'd much rather have a kid cry with a soft toothbrush than when I have to drill a cavity.' "

Dental decay often starts with a dull ache that may be mistaken for teething. That is why parents do not realize their child's teeth are infected until they break or the pain becomes so acute that the child cannot sleep, said Dr. Joel Berg, director of the Center for Pediatric Dentistry, a joint venture since 2010 between the University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital, which built a surgical wing because of the demand for oral surgery for preschoolers.

With a cooperative child, a cavity — or even many — can be treated in a dentist's office with an injection of local anesthesia and an episode of "The Backyardigans" to distract patients.
But dentists routinely recommend general anesthesia for preschoolers with extensive problems, particularly if they will not even let X-rays be taken. The cost to parents for dental restoration under general anesthesia for a child ranges from $2,000 to $5,000 or more, depending on insurance coverage and the amount of work, several dentists said.
Dr. Megann Smiley, a dentist-anesthesiologist at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, is used to hearing parents question the need for general anesthesia to fix their children's infected teeth. "It seems like putting a match out with a fire hydrant," Dr. Smiley said. "But if any of us tried to get 12 teeth treated, we wouldn't think that's small."
The dental surgery center at Nationwide has three operating rooms, which staff members and local dentists used to treat roughly 2,525 children in 2011, 6 percent more than in 2010. The average age of patients is 4, and most have decay in six to eight teeth, she said. "The most severe cases have 12 or 16, which is seen several times a week," Dr. Smiley added.
Using general anesthesia on healthy children has risks, including vomiting and nausea, and, in very rare cases, brain damage or death. Using anti-anxiety drugs to relax a child coupled with local anesthesia for pain has risks, too, including an overdose that could suppress breathing.

Hannah Schwartz of Brooklyn refused general anesthesia for her 3 ½-year-old daughter, Alice. By then, one of Alice's eight cavities had already been treated in a dentist's office using a papoose board to immobilize her from head to ankle with straps. Her daughter screamed, "Take it off me!" for the 20-minute procedure, said Ms. Schwartz, a nursing student.
Afterward, "I left the room and burst into tears without Alice seeing," she said, adding that she would try a third option, laughing gas.

Of course, the lack of money or insurance can be an issue, but several dentists in interviews nationwide attributed extensive cavities in part to lax parenting, at all income levels.
"It's not just about kids in poverty, though kids of lower socioeconomic status tend to get more cavities," said Dr. Rochelle Lindemeyer, director of the pediatric dentistry residency program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania dental school. Affluent families may have nannies who "pacify kids by giving them a sippy cup all day," Dr. Lindemeyer said.
Brushing teeth twice a day used to be nonnegotiable, she said, but not anymore. "Some parents say: 'He doesn't want his teeth brushed. We'll wait until he's more emotionally mature.' It's baffling," she added.
Dr. Man Wai Ng , the dentist in chief at Children's Hospital Boston, said she heard parents, rich and poor, make similar rationalizations about their preschoolers' snacking, like, "I can't ever imagine Johnny being hungry, so I'm laying out a whole-wheat spread that's always available."

With a grant from the DentaQuest Institute, Dr. Ng started a disease-management program to alter the habits of parents of children with cavities so some could avoid the operating room. Her advice includes less frequent snacks, and only four ounces of juice a day. She does not forbid sweets, but suggests brushing afterward, and bacteria-killing Xylitol lollipops.
Multiple studies have shown that even children who undergo general anesthesia to treat dental decay end up with cavities again. Janine Costantini, the ambulatory practice director at Children's Hospital Colorado, said the staff treated a 3-year-old who was making his second visit to the operating room for dental work. The boy arrived with a bottle of Coca-Cola

[bearbearsnanny]

The dentists need to be more careful in the way they address this issue. My grandson has been seeing a dentist since he was two and we were fussed at for the problems. After feeling like crap for years for cavities his allergy doctor told us he has acid reflux from allergies to corn/beef/milk and a slew of other things,( which thanks goodness he has outgrown now) but the dentist had my daughter in tears telling her he was getting to many sweets and there so no way he was brushing correctly etc. It took everything I had in me no to call the dentist when and tell him off when we found out.

[2witty4u]

I have seen children walking around with teeth looking like they have a mouth full of black eyed peas in their mouths. There is no excuse for that!!! And others with a mouth full of silver fillings, looking like a little Flava Flav.... I have heard parents say why bother, they are just going to fall out anyway.... SMH. Ignorant!!!!

[LGM]

2witty4u, on 07 March 2012 - 04:15 PM, said:

I have seen children walking around with teeth looking like they have a mouth full of black eyed peas in their mouths. There is no excuse for that!!! And others with a mouth full of silver fillings, looking like a little Flava Flav.... I have heard parents say why bother, they are just going to fall out anyway.... SMH. Ignorant!!!!

Guilty!


I'm actually not sure why her crown is silver - I assume our dental would only cover that because it's a baby tooth. But yeah, if she laughs, you can see a silver crown about three teeth back on the bottom.

Not a cavity, though - she broke it. Not a bit of decay, etc. found...she just bites on everything and finally cracked a tooth like I kept telling her she would.

It's one of the next ones to go, thank goodness.

[momof 3]

Not all children with dental issues are victims of lax parenting. According to every dentist I have ever been to, genetics has a great deal to do with good teeth and bad teeth. 4th grader has never had a cavity. My 25 year old has had issues with her teeth from day one, she is now with a dentist who has been smart enough and honest enough to tell her that her teeth can't be saved. Instead of endless root canals and crowns, she is getting implants and a bridge. Her terrible teeth have nothing to do with what she ate or drank when she was a kid, they are just bad teeth with no enamel.

So the next time any of us sees a child with bad teeth, maybe judgements shouldn't come so quickly, after all, we don't know how or why they are that way.

[Childrens Dentistry - West Cobb]

Each of your posts are definetly correct. We thought the article would be helpful since it was aired on NBC to make parents aware not to wait to take the kids to the dentist. Genetics certainly play a huge part in how your childrens teeth form. Sometimes, even in twins, we see one twin never have a cavitiy and yet the other twin, will have one at every dental visit. Often people wonder why? There are a variety reasons children get cavities, and yes, it can be genetic, it can be from allergies, soft enamal , deep grooves, acid reflux and a variety of other factors, however, what we are finding to be a HUGE factor is the treats that are offered throughout the school day for GOOD behavior. Not to mention, couple that with every sugary snack that kids love that is sticky, tacky, gummy and wonderfully good but not wonderfully good for their little teeth. Then multiply that with a not so coordinated child that doesn't brush or floss well and VIOLA: Cavities.

We also believe we see less and less children actually drinking water. TAP Water which is fluorinated can be extremely helpful in preventing cavities. Bottled water is expensive and often lacks fluoride.

We have many parents that didn't realize that a quick "Look and see" visit at 2 years old, might be beneficial. Chances are the kids arent; going to let us "clean" their teeth quite yet, but it can be a wonderful way for early detection. Also, you mention food allergies in one of the posts, and our pediatric dentists can usually tell by the way the enamal is forming that there might be a acid reflux problem due to food allergies or other gastrointestinal issues that your child may be having.

Early dental visits can only help.

Kindergarten Registration is Today and Tomorrow from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Remember, you must have your child's dental "3330" Form along with hearing and vision screenings.