Some pediatric dentists say a growing number of children in Michigan are experiencing dental complications and disease.
Many of those cases may go untreated.
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. Some Metro Detroit pediatric dentists are working to raise awareness in hopes of helping families prevent some common problems.
The staff stays busy at Dr. Amy Parker and Associates Pediatric Dentistry office in Southfield, Michigan.
They’re ensuring children’s dental needs and oral hygiene are priorities early on.
“When you start a child out, and you start a child out early, and you start them right, then they should have a good dental life,” said Parker.
Parker and her Associate, Dr. Meagan Daughtery-Barnes, are on a mission this month.
“It’s the smile that a little person has on their face that brings me joy,” said Daughtery-Barnes.
Their office is working to raise awareness about some common dental health concerns.
Daughtery-Barnes said, “So many individuals, which we have found in our years of practice, do not understand the importance of a pediatric dentist. And they don’t understand the importance of a child going to a dentist.”
The dentists say, over time, they’ve been seeing an alarming and increasing number of young children with dental carries, or cavities, as they’re commonly called.
That could come from poor brushing habits and a sugary diet, among other things.
“We get a lot of people that are in prolonged nursing,” Parker said. “Prolong bottle fed. And that causes cavities.”
That’s why the dentists recommend the motto: First tooth. First visit.
They also suggest children brush their teeth at least twice a day and floss regularly.
“If they do it as a family, that works out well because the children see the parents doing it,” Parker said. “They get used to doing it themselves.”
The pediatric dentists also recommend establishing a routine with regular dental visits every six months.
“When they partner with us, or when they establish what we call a dental home, the incidents and the increase in carries will decrease,” Daughtery-Barnes said.
Parker and Daughtery-Barnes are not only colleagues. Parker was Daughtery-Barnes’ pediatric dentist. She started treating Daughtery-Barnes’ teeth when she was two years old.
Now, the women are working together, helping to change children’s lives, one tooth at a time.