Children's oral health

Participating at the Pregnancy, Babies and Children’s Expo on behalf of and supported by the Australian Dental Association (WA), was an excellent opportunity to promote and share the message of prevention and healthy teeth for life; that the deciduous dentition is equally as important as the permanent dentition.

Volunteering at the expo were UWA dental students, dental assistants, dental practitioners, specialist paediatric dentists and paediatric postgraduates.  

We provided information/advice along with and abundance of printed material. ‘Screenings’ were conducted on children who then also received a toothbrush/toothpaste. Our very colourful and interactive stand, balloons and big, easy-to-climb dental chair and ‘tooth fairies’ were a hit with the children.  It was gratifying to see the genuine interest and concern from parents with so many questions, wanting to do the best for their child.

We saw children who had caries, ulcers, early eruption (including a child born with two lower incisors), delayed eruption, the marked effects of thumb sucking and dummies (with frustrated parents “what do we do?”). The ramifications of diet-- a focal point of discussion with parents. We were approached by a mother living in an area with no fluoridation asking what she should do for her child. 

The youngest child that visited was 7-weeks-old!

We were initially asked: ‘What are you selling? Who are you promoting?’ Our reply: “We are not selling anything nor promoting anyone.’ We were there to raise awareness about good oral health care and the message that looking after ‘baby teeth’ is just as important as looking after permanent teeth; encouraging healthy eating and drinking habits as the best way to have healthy teeth for life.

To have so many recurring questions about children’s teeth: brushing – when do we start; what technique; is toothpaste necessary; what about fluoride; when do we see the dentist; my child is 12 months and still doesn’t have teeth, do I have to worry? – does pose the concern that information on oral health and its significance is not reaching the majority of the community. 

This begs the question – what more can we as a profession do and how can we be more proactive? Raising an awareness to the profession for further discussion and action.

Our other outcomes included having satisfied mums, dads and grandparents with comments such as:  great initiative – fantastic opportunity to learn more about child dental health; very good information; didn’t realise we have to start brushing so soon; we live rurally so this has been a big help; very helpful as my daughter has never had a dentist visit; all good information, really appreciated; very friendly with kids.

We drew the attention of other groups participating at the expo and were approached by the Patient Education Coordinator from Saint John of God Hospital and the area manager from Busy Bees regarding access to information on oral health to disseminate within their organisations and assistance with provision of talks to midwives, lactation consultants, parents, staff and children.

The students commented on how much they learned from watching and listening to the advice being given by the dentists and how helpful interacting with the public was for their communication skills, with a few shyly asking if they could stay longer than their allotted time.

Feedback from volunteers overwhelmingly was that they found it to be an enjoyable and rewarding experience. 

My sincere gratitude to all who took part.Many thanks also to Ileana Kalamaras, Tracy Wong and Deshna Bajracharya for their help with set-up and pack-down.

I would like to express my appreciation to Nichola Meehan and Margy O’Connor from Henry Schein Halas for their generous donation of masks, gloves and sanitiser, Colgate for their donation of toothbrushes and toothpaste and Rose Turner at Dental Health Services who kindly assisted with the supply of the displays and pamphlets.

Dr Lena Lejmanoski

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