Although child health experts recommend that children begin oral healthcare by age 1 or when their first teeth emerge, most U.S. children ages 1 to 2 have not yet started seeing a dentist, according to a new report from the University of Michigan Health System C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health.
In May 2011, the National Poll on Children's Health asked parents of children ages 1 to 5 about dental health care for young children. The poll found that only 23% of 1-year-olds and only 44% of 2-year-olds had been to the dentist.
Parents may not be aware of recommendations for early dental healthcare and finding a dentist who will see young children -- especially those covered by Medicaid -- is a long-standing problem in some communities, the researchers noted. To address these issues, pediatricians and healthcare providers are now seen as important partners in oral health and are encouraged to discuss oral health during well-child visits.
However, when parents of 1- to 2-year-olds were asked about dental health activities that occurred at their child's most recent well-child visit, less than half of parents said their healthcare providers talked to them about cleaning the teeth or taking their child to the dentist and one in three children did not have their teeth examined at all by their healthcare provider.
"We know that not all children will see a dentist at age 1, but on the other hand, almost all children have well-child visits with a pediatrician or other healthcare provider," said Sarah Clark, MPH, associate director of the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit at the University of Michigan. "The results of this poll indicate that we need to improve the way oral health issues are addressed during well-child visits so that parents fully understand the need for good oral healthcare."
