Oral health in the pediatric practice setting: a survey of Washington State pediatricians.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric health care providers may be the only source of preventive oral health education for families of young children who lack access to professional dental care. OBJECTIVE: We surveyed Washington State pediatricians in order to characterize their oral health-related educational needs and anticipatory guidance practices. METHODS: A 38-question survey was mailed to all 606 general pediatricians in Washington State. Topics included anticipatory practices and confidence in oral health-related activities. RESULTS: Of 483 eligible participants, 271 returned completed surveys (response rate: 57%). A median of 30 percent of the well-child visit was devoted to providing anticipatory guidance. A majority (83.7%) of respondents reported providing anticipatory guidance on oral health. CONCLUSION: Washington State pediatricians are already involved in providing oral health anticipatory guidance. Certain factors are identified that should be addressed to allow pediatricians to promote oral health more effectively.

Oral health of young Alaska Native children and their caregivers in Southwestern Alaska.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the prevalence of caries and associated risk factors in young Native children and their caregivers in two communities in rural Alaska. METHODS: A random sample of Alaska Native children between 12-36 months and a subset of their caregivers from two Southwestern Alaska communities were examined for dental decay. Caregivers completed a 43-item questionnaire about oral hygiene, dietary and other practices. RESULTS: Of the 65 children examined, 59% had evidence of decay. Among the 41 primary caregivers examined, 98% had experienced dental decay with an average of 11.4 decayed, missing, and filled teeth. On linear regression analyses, factors significantly associated with more decay in the children included a child taking a juice-containing bottle to bed, eating candy 1 or more times per day, and higher caregiver oral S. mutans counts. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that preventive efforts for children at high risk for dental decay should begin early in life, should emphasize decreasing candy and bedtime juice bottle use, and should consider the caregivers' oral health status in addition to the child's.