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This page contains information and resources for health care providers about early childhood caries (ECC), and how Branam's line of natural products can help them enhance the care they give their patients through prevention. If you havor email proinfo@branamsmile.com.
Everyone who cares for children should care about ECC
Early childhood caries (ECC) is the #1 chronic infectious disease among U.S. children, now affecting more than half of all 7 year olds. The disease can be well advanced by 3 years, the age that pediatricians have traditionally recommended children begin seeing a dentist.
The Children’s Dental Health Project (www.CDHP.org) asserts that ECC may have broader implications for health, describing it as “often the first significant acquired pathology in children…and a sentinel for other health-behavior related risks for disease” later in life.
e additional questions, please contact our Professional Helpline at 877-374-4229,
As a health care professional, you are the first line of defense against this growing epidemic among our children.
Working together, we can beat ECC.
The ECC epidemic in the U.S. and worldwide demands teamwork and a new interdisciplinary approach to prevention and care.
Early referral by the primary care giver to a pediatric dentist routinely at age 1, and earlier if there are signs of pathology, is key to successful long-term caries management.
Pediatricians are more likely to encounter new mothers and infants than are dentists, and in the absence of specialized dental care, can provide invaluable assistance with the application of fluoride varnish and other appropriate preventive dental care. To augment the 6,000 practicing pediatric dentists in the U.S., many general dentists are now willing to see younger children for their initial dental evaluation.
Continuous reinforcement by an interdisciplinary health care team (ie. pediatricians, primary care clinicians, nurses, dentists, dental auxiliary, pharmacists) can have a positive impact on the reduction and prevention of ECC.
How You Can Help With Your Patients
OB/GYN
Numerous studies confirm the link between maternal oral health during pregnancy and the development of early childhood caries. As an OB/GYN, you are in a unique position to help your patients protect their oral health and that of their unborn child by taking the following actions:
- Encourage patients at first prenatal visit to schedule an oral health examination if one has not been performed in the past 6 months or if a new condition is present
- Provide referrals, documentation and follow-up with oral health professional
- Advise patient that dental care is safe, effective and essential during pregnancy
- Educate expectant mothers by the third month of pregnancy about the dental decay process in adults and children, and nutrition for dental health
- By third month pf pregnancy, confirm that patient has commenced a regimen of oral care with products containing xylitol and fluoride
- Encourage patient to maintain this regimen for at least two years after birth and ideally until the child is 5 years of age
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Pediatrician
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all child health care professionals develop the knowledge to perform oral health risk assessments on patients beginning at 6 months of age. As a pediatrician, you and your staff can provide the best early defense against ECC by taking the following actions:
- Perform a risk assessment on your patients beginning at 6 months of age
- Encourage new moms to chew gum with therapeutic levels of xylitol three times a day for at least 6 months
- Advise the use of fluoridated water for infant formula preparation after 6 months of age
- Recommend age-appropriate diet that avoids snack foods with high refined sugar or starch content
- Recommend that bottle-fed babies be given only water in their bottles between meals or at night
- Advise parents to clean child’s teeth every day and take advantage of fluoride varnishes or treatments if recommended
- Ensure that the child sees a pediatric dentist on or around their first birthday
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Pediatric Dentist
The profession’s growing philosophical move to a preventive wellness model is key to controlling ECC and ensuring a healthy future for millions of children. Identifying patients at risk, controlling risk factors and prescribing targeted treatments for children who have expressed the disease will go far to achieve this goal. As a Pediatric Dentist, you are uniquely equipped to diagnose, prevent and treat ECC by taking the following actions:
- Assess the risk for ECC and other oral disease by identifying risk indicators
- Recommend interventions to prevent early childhood dental caries including:
- Encouraging good oral hygiene in parents/caregivers using therapeutic agents such as xylitol toothpaste, rinse and gum, fluoride and chlorhexadine solutions
- Avoiding saliva-sharing behaviors of mothers and children to reduce transmission of cariogenic bacteria
- Avoiding bottles and sippy cups just before sleep and encouraging use of water instead of sugary liquids
- Wiping infant’s teeth after feeding, especially along the gum line
- Weaning children from bottle and sippy cup by 10 months and pacifier by 1 year
- Applying fluoride varnishes 2-3 times a year after six months of age
- Review products you recommend to ensure that they work to prevent and treat the caries infection and not merely re-mineralize damaged teeth
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General Dentist
By assessing your patients’ risk for dental caries based on identified risk factors and diagnosing the presence of the biofilm infection, you can develop a long-term plan of treatment, preventive care and maintenance. As a General Dentist, you are in the best position to assess and treat the caries infection in your adult patients (particularly expectant mothers) and reduce the likelihood of transmission to their children by taking the following actions:
- Utilize a simple protocol for caries risk assessment
- Perform a gingival and periodontal examination for pregnant patients
- Develop and discuss a comprehensive treatment plan that includes preventive and maintenance care
- Prescribe a regimen for caries prevention and treatment
- Advise your pregnant patients on proper dental hygiene, diet and infant oral care to reduce the risk of ECC in their children
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Dental Hygienist
As the front line for diagnosis and prevention in the entire practice, you already counsel patients on proper oral hygiene, diet and product use. You can build on your patients’ trust to educate them about ECC, and assist with effective diagnosis and treatment by taking the following actions:
- Utilize a simple protocol for caries risk assessment to identify patients who will need caries management in addition to restorative work
- Educate yourself about ECC and talk to your patients about transmission of the infection between parent/caregiver and child
- Review the products you currently recommend to determine whether they work to help prevent and treat dental caries or simply re-mineralize damaged teeth.
- Prescribe a regimen of products for caries prevention and treatment, including toothpastes, rinses and gum with therapeutic levels of xylitol, such as the Branam range of products
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