<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The first visit to the dentist should take place within 6 months after the first deciduous tooth erupts, and not later than in the 12th month of the child’s life. To assess the role of paediatricians in the prophylaxis of early childhood caries, the authors studied recommendations given to parents about the age when their child should see the dentist for the first time. The survey covered 250 parents of children aged from 11 to 69 months who attended nursery schools and kindergartens in Lublin. Our results show that paediatricians only referred 12.80% (n = 32) of all children at the age of between 3 to 66 months for their first visit to the dentist. Herein, half of the references were of children younger than 2 years (Me = 24.0). In total, the mean age of the child was 22.41 ± 13.24 months on reference.Thus, paediatricians refer children to the dentist for their first visit too seldom and too late. It is essential that paediatricians learn to participate to a greater extent in the prevention of early childhood caries. The cooperation between the paediatrician and the dentist is necessary to provide complex and comprehensive care to developmental age patients.</abstract>

The first visit to the dentist should take place within 6 months after the first deciduous tooth erupts, and not later than in the 12th month of the child’s life. To assess the role of paediatricians in the prophylaxis of early childhood caries, the authors studied recommendations given to parents about the age when their child should see the dentist for the first time. The survey covered 250 parents of children aged from 11 to 69 months who attended nursery schools and kindergartens in Lublin. Our results show that paediatricians only referred 12.80% (n = 32) of all children at the age of between 3 to 66 months for their first visit to the dentist. Herein, half of the references were of children younger than 2 years (Me = 24.0). In total, the mean age of the child was 22.41 ± 13.24 months on reference.Thus, paediatricians refer children to the dentist for their first visit too seldom and too late. It is essential that paediatricians learn to participate to a greater extent in the prevention of early childhood caries. The cooperation between the paediatrician and the dentist is necessary to provide complex and comprehensive care to developmental age patients.

The role of paediatricians in the prophylaxis of early childhood caries

Department of Integrated Paediatric Dentistry

Current Issues in Pharmacy and Medical Sciences

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":"The role of paediatricians in the prophylaxis of early childhood caries"}

The first visit to the dentist should take place within 6 months after the first deciduous tooth erupts, and not later than in the 12th month of the child’s...

The role of paediatricians in the prophylaxis of early childhood caries

Published Online: Oct 29, 2018

Page range: 154 - 156

Received: Mar 27, 2018

Accepted: Apr 19, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cipms-2018-0030

Keywords
early childhood caries (ECC), prophylaxis, paediatrician

© 2018 Kamila Fux-Zalewska et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The role of paediatricians in the prophylaxis of early childhood caries

Published Online: Oct 29, 2018

Page range: 154 - 156

Received: Mar 27, 2018

Accepted: Apr 19, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cipms-2018-0030

Keywordsearly childhood caries (ECC), prophylaxis, paediatrician

© 2018 Kamila Fux-Zalewska et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
early childhood caries (ECC), prophylaxis, paediatrician