The importance of oral health conversations with children

By decomposing teeth as the only highest reason for accepting hospitals for children, this month Gemma Forsythe is discussing how dental nurses can train children about the importance of oral health during checks.

I am qualified as a dental nurse in January 2020.

In March of the same year, I undertook the BDA training certificate for oral health.

Oral health training has always been something I have been interested in since I started my dental nursing career. As a result, I knew that I wanted to do a lesson after the preference on this subject.

I believe that if you create healthy habits at home from an early age, they will stick with children to adulthood.

Since I qualified as an oral health teacher in March 2021, I have visited schools, nurseries and other environments for providing valuable oral health education to children of all ages.

Lasting conversations

I recently read an article that really echoed with me on the website of the National Institute of Health and Care (NIHR).

He explained how conversation with a dental nurse can reduce the further risk of teeth decomposition in children.

They did a study that included more than 200 families of five to seven years of children. The study took place in 12 centers in the United Kingdom that had deciduous teeth that were extracted with a general anesthetic in a dental hospital.

To tackle this problem, the research team at the Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust developed a “speech” intervention and trained dental nurses to have conversations with parents who had acquired teeth. Talks focused on how families could prevent further decay in the future.

They then compared the results for these children with those who had only given usual tips on regular dentist visits.

The researchers checked the health of children’s teeth two years later and asked their dentists about the care provided. They found that almost two thirds of the children in both groups returned to the dentist.

Significant results

However, children whose families had not spoken to specially trained dental nurses needed many other fills.

Children whose families had set their own dental health goals had significant healthier teeth. In addition, these children had a 29% lower risk of having new tooth wear.

This study itself shows how important education for oral health is. Not only for children but also for their parents.

As people can be shocked with a lot of information at the same time, this could be done over a few visits that focus on a different goal each time.

A visit could focus on brushing before bedtime. Another visit could consider their diet and keep sugary snacks for desserts after meals.

This could be undertaken by the dental nurse, while the dentist types their notes.

It may also be useful to provide a brochure that explains what was discussed as it is often difficult to maintain a lot of information at the same time.

Vital education

Tooth decay is the only highest reason for children to be admitted to the hospital.

A shocking 33,779 children nine or below was admitted to the hospital to have teeth exported in 2017 – 2018.

In addition to causing pain, tooth decay results in the alert nights and the days of the lost school and the work for children and their families. In addition, treatment should usually be done under general anesthetic which in itself creates a risk.

The evidence that children with deciduous teeth are exported are more likely to disintegrate to their permanent teeth.

The time spent at the end of appointments that focus on improving oral hygiene and nutrition is so important. This study proves how vital an oral health education is.

Tooth decay can be prevented. Patients and their families simply need the right information and training to allow them to improve their oral health.

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