February has been Children’s Dental Health Month – a time to educate Colorado families on what we can do at home to prevent the No. 1 chronic disease in kids today: tooth decay. As a practicing dentist for more than 30 years, I frequently meet people who understand brushing teeth is a healthy habit but who aren’t aware of the serious impact of dental disease – particularly on kids. Sadly, nearly four in 10 Colorado kids start kindergarten with cavities. That number goes up to 55 percent by the time kids reach third grade. Children with oral pain, missing teeth and silver crowns from dental disease can experience failure to thrive, impaired speech development, reduced self-esteem and avoidance of laughing and smiling. Research also tells us kids with toothaches miss more school and have lower grade point averages than their peers. The problem is so great – and yet not widely understood – that the U.S. surgeon general in 2000 called it a “silent epidemic.”
What’s most disturbing about childhood dental disease is it is pervasive despite being nearly 100 percent preventable. The truth is cavities are not normal or inevitable. They are not a rite of passage. And only in rare cases does one have “bad teeth.”
Cavities can be prevented when families take a few minutes every day to brush their teeth together. This means parents need to start brushing their young child’s teeth from the moment his or her first tooth arrives. When parents brush their children’s teeth every day, they set a positive example lasting a lifetime. This also gives parents the opportunity to help their kids get to those hard-to-reach places, while ensuring they’re not just playing in the bathroom. Take the pledge to brush your child’s teeth every day. You can do this at BrushwithMe.com or CepillaConmigo.com, both hosted by Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation.
Michael Okuji
Denver
