Paul Szmal: And welcome back to FLX Morning, it is 8.16 and I'm joined from Finger Lakes Community Health by Sarah Green. Sarah, good morning, how are you today?
Sarah Green: I'm good and I'm excited to be here to talk about children's dental health.
Paul Szmal: Absolutely, before we start drilling down into that pun somewhat intended, can you tell me a little bit about your background?
Sarah Green: Well, I am a dental hygienist, but I'm also a community dental health coordinator for Finger Lakes Community Health. We are an independent healthcare organization with nine health centers across seven counties in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
Paul Szmal: So when we talk about child dentistry, when does that actually really take effect? When should a child first see a dentist?
Sarah Green: Well the recommendation now is that children be seen either by the time they turn one year old or by the time they get their first tooth. So we want them in the office really early.
Paul Szmal: Is there a particular reason why you want them in so early?
Sarah Green: Well part of the reason is we just want to establish care early and we want to be looking for problems early. But the other big issue is we want to focus on educating the parents so that they're doing what they can to prevent decay in their children.
Paul Szmal: What are some of the more, once a word I'm looking for, some of the more common problems that younger children have when it comes to the formation of their teeth and growing of their teeth early on?
Sarah Green: Well a lot of times it's decay. We see decay in very little ones, two years old, even younger, that have significant decay in their mouth and have to even have to be taken to the OR to be put to sleep to have the work done because it's so much.
Paul Szmal: Wow, I didn't realize that.
Sarah Green: Yeah, so it's a big problem and it's very preventable. So if we can get the message out to parents to bring their kids in sooner and get that education so that you're doing what you can to prevent that, we're going to be better off in the long run.
Paul Szmal: I would think that parents probably are waiting for their kids to have a tooth that starts coming crooked or something like that before they actually consider bringing their children in. But what we're talking about here is the fact that baby teeth are actually very important and taking care of those is just as important as taking care of the permanent teeth that come along later.
Sarah Green: Yes, so we want those baby teeth, especially the back molars, to last until the child is 11 or 12. So if they end up getting a cavity in that tooth when they're two or three, that tooth is not going to last until they're 11 or 12. And the decay can cause pain and infection, which can affect their eating, their sleeping, their behavior. It can affect them at school.
Paul Szmal: We're talking with Sarah Green from Finger Lakes Community Health here about kids and the dentist here this morning on FLX Morning. So if tooth decay is one of the biggest issues for children age, say, one to five, what are some of the ways to prevent that?
Sarah Green: So first of all, you want to be brushing as soon as that first tooth comes in twice a day with a fluoridated toothpaste. It is totally okay to use fluoride on little ones. You just want to use a tiny little smear of the toothpaste. So you're brushing twice a day. You want to get them into the dentist's office as soon as that first tooth comes so that they're getting a fluoride treatment at the office as well. So fluoride is a big deal. We also, there's a few things we can do to avoid decay. For example, not putting baby to bed with a bottle with milk or juice in it. That's something that some parents will do, and that leads to a lot of decay. As for older kids that maybe aren't having a bottle all the time, but we want to avoid letting them sip on sugary beverages, and that includes juice and milk.
Paul Szmal: And the reason for that being that because these teeth are so young that they're more prone to decay, am I correct in that?
Sarah Green: Well, it's that every time you take a sip of a sugary beverage, the bacteria in your mouth makes an acid that attacks your teeth. And that is what we want to avoid. We want you to be having your sugary beverages with your meals, but not sipping a sugary beverage throughout the day.
Paul Szmal: Okay, that's fair enough. And as the children get older and they start to floss and brush, try saying that three times fast on their own, that's an important habit for them to develop.
Sarah Green: Yeah, so flossing is really important. You want to start flossing any teeth that touch. So that's important. You want to be cleaning in between those teeth as well. You can use flossers. That's an easy way to floss your kids' teeth because it can be tricky to floss somebody else's teeth, but using the flossers make it a little bit easier. But yeah, that's important too because the brush cannot get in between the teeth, so we need to use something to get in between the teeth to clean.
Paul Szmal: Is tooth decay something that we find in older children, preteen and teenage years as well?
Sarah Green: Yes. Yes. We do see it there as well. And sometimes we see it where it's not being taken care of in a timely manner, and so then it's just getting worse than it has to be.
Paul Szmal: What about vaping for teenagers? Does that have any effect on their dental health?
Sarah Green: Yeah. Vaping can cause dry mouths. It can cause inflamed gums, and it increases your rate for decay and gum disease. And we're definitely seeing that it's becoming more common with high schoolers. So that's definitely a topic that we want to focus on when we have the kids in the office.
Paul Szmal: And access to dental care, that still remains a challenge, but Finger Lakes Community Health has some programs available to help kids and parents get the dental care that they're looking for.
Sarah Green: Yeah. Yeah. So there's a nationwide provider dental shortage right now. So all the offices in the area are having trouble with this issue. A lot of them are not accepting new patients. We do have a school-based program to help fill in the gaps of those offices. We use portable equipment, and we go to the schools to do cleanings, fluorides, exams, x-rays, all of that. We'll be going to all of Wayne County schools soon. And we also serve schools in Steuben, Yates, Ontario, Seneca, and Tompkins Counties.
Paul Szmal: Wow. Mobile dental practice on wheels going to schools.
Sarah Green: Yeah, exactly.
Paul Szmal: That's fantastic. So to recap what we've been talking about here this morning, Sarah, really the most important thing for a child's dental health is to start early.
Sarah Green: Yes. Yes. So it's very important to get in early and make sure they're being seen on a regular basis. And then get any, if they find a cavity, get it done, get it taken care of sooner rather than later.
Paul Szmal: And I just want to throw out our website. If you have more questions about the school-based program, you can go to localcommunityhealth.com.
Sarah Green: Okay.
Paul Szmal: Fantastic. I wanted to ask, especially for teenagers, things like whitening kits, are those advisable, or is that something that maybe parents should steer their teenagers away from?
Sarah Green: I always recommend that teenagers wait to do that until they're grown, until they're an adult. And it's not going to hurt their teeth. I mean, the teeth are the same when they're 16 as when they're 20. It's the same teeth. But the problem is that you're using something that's a pretty strong chemical. And if they're not using it properly, if they're not being watched how they use it, they can end up with a lot of irritation in their gums and things like that. So it just is my recommendation to wait, and that's usually most providers' recommendation.
Paul Szmal: All right. And website one more time if people want to find out more information about that school program.
Sarah Green: Yep. It's localcommunityhealth.com.
Paul Szmal: All right. Fantastic. Sarah, thank you so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
Sarah Green: Thank you.
Paul Szmal: It is 824 on FLX Morning.
