Introduction
One in five children aged < 5 years has experienced caries, making it the most prevalent
chronic disease in childhood. The failure to address a child's dental health can lead
to short-term and long-term complications and problems with permanent dentition. Primary
care pediatric providers are in the position to participate in the prevention of caries
because of the frequency they see young children before establishing a dental home.
Method
A retrospective chart review and two surveys were developed to collect data from health
care providers and parents of children aged < 6 years about their dental health knowledge
and practices.
Results
While providers report being comfortable discussing dental health with patients, review
of medical records shows inconsistent discussion and documentation of dental health.
Discussion
There appears to be a lack of education regarding dental health among parents and
health care providers. Primary care providers are not effectively communicating the
importance of childhood dental health and are not routinely documenting dental health
information.
KEY WORDS
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 26, 2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofFootnotes
The study was approved by The University of Alabama Institutional Review Board (approval nos. 19-04-2308, 19-04-2274, and 19-04-2213).
Conflicts of interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
Copyright © 2022 by the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
