Dentists stress preventative oral care for children

Tooth decay is nearly 100 percent preventable yet it's the most common chronic childhood disease in the U-S. Tooth decay is five times more common than asthma.

"As a parent you are charged with a lot of different things and you have a million different things going on but oral heath is something that as Pediatrician Dentist we really want to stress upon parents the prevention and intervention," Pediatric Dentist Dr. Sean Whalen said.
Most dentists say parents should lead their children by example when it comes to oral hygiene. "Most kids and academy guidelines require that we see kids at the age of one or within six months of the first tooth eruption," he said.

Aside from tooth decay, there are several other dental issues that affect children. "Saliva sharing activities like passing along spoons, cleaning off pacifiers, all of these things take the bacteria that causes cavities and inoculate our kids with it," Whalen said.