In observance of Dental Health Month in February, the state Department of Health and the Kaua’i Dental Health Task Force want more Kaua’i parents to fuss over their young children’s teeth before bedtime. When parents stop the practice of their
In observance of Dental Health Month in February, the state Department of Health and the Kaua’i Dental Health Task Force want more Kaua’i parents to fuss over their young children’s teeth before bedtime.
When parents stop the practice of their children going to sleep with bottles of milk and juice in their mouths, they will protect their children’s teeth from decay. The sugar in the liquids can cause rotting of the babies’ teeth, said Dely Sasaki, a district program manager with the DOH office on Kaua’i and a member of the task force.
The task force, comprised of community agencies and island dentists, wants to step up public awareness on ways to stop baby bottle tooth decay, Sasaki said.
The children of Kaua’i have among the highest rates of tooth decay in the state, because parents don’t have enough information on the damaging effects sugar, left in the mouths of their children, can have, Sasaki said.
The problem has far-reaching consequences for children, Sasaki said.
Children will have pain, speech problems and permanent teeth that will be decayed and experience shame for the condition of their teeth. Dental bills will be high.
Parents can help babies by cleaning their teeth and gums after meals and giving the baby fluoride drops, Sasaki said.
Parents also can teach their children to drink from a cup at 6 months of age, reducing the risk of sweet liquids lingering in their children’s mouth as long as they drink from bottles, Sasaki said.
Instead of pacifying their children with a bottle of milk or juice at night, parents should rock the baby to sleep, sing or play music, massage the baby or read a story, Sasaki said.
The task force was formed six years ago in response to the baby bottle tooth rot problem, and developed five-year plan to address it, Sasaki said.
The task force has focused on school dental health, community education, dental care and fluoridation, Sasaki said.
The task force has reached key goals, including having a state bill passed that strongly recommended Kaua’i children entering school for the first time get dental checkups and treatment and coordinating four successful health conferences.
The task force also worked with Kaua’i communities on a pilot fluoridation project, urged state legislators to support a statewide fluoridation initiative, got Kaua’i Electric to put dental care literature in its bills for two years, reaching 26,000 customers, and initiated rinse programs in four elementary schools.
The task force held a conference last September that focused on improving the way physicians screen children for dental care and make referrals, enhancing knowledge of oral health care for children and informing conference participants about dental health recourses and dental health insurance.
The task force also wants pre-school teachers and family care providers to be conscious of baby bottle tooth decay and know what steps to take to prevent it from occurring.
Also, last October, the American Public Health Association, Maternal Child Health an Colgate Palmolive company selected Kaua’i for a pilot project on how to address the dental needs of the island’s children.
“It is important that children have necessary dental care, for their future,” Sasaki said.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
