A SURVEY OF PEDIATRICIANS REGARDING INFANT ORAL HEALTH CARE

Ju, Tae-Joon; Park, Ho-Won; Lee, Ju-Hyun; Seo, Hyun-Woo

Journal of the Korean Academy of Pediatric Dentistry 2009;36(3):448-455.
Published online August 31, 2009.

A SURVEY OF PEDIATRICIANS REGARDING INFANT ORAL HEALTH CARE

Tae-Joon Ju, Ho-Won Park, Ju-Hyun Lee, Hyun-Woo Seo

Department of pediatric dentistry, College of dentistry, Kangnung-Wonju national university

소아청소년과의사의 영유아기 구강건강 관리에 대한 인식도 조사

주태준, 박호원, 이주현, 서현우

강릉∙원주 대학교 치과대학 소아치과학교실

Correspondence: Ho-Won Park, Tel: 033-640-3158, Email: pedo@kangnung.ac.kr

Received: 19 March 2009 • Accepted: 21 July 2009

Abstract

For prevention of ECC, the Korean Academy Of Pediatric Dentistry(KAPD) advocate that Children should be seen as early as 6 months of age after the first tooth erupts, or 12 months of age. Pediatrics have increased access to new mothers and children 6 to 12 months while dentists does not see young children unless there are urgent problems. Therefore, they have an opportunity to impact infant oral health care. This study's purpose was to examine pediatricians' awareness and experience about infant oral health care. For the study, we surveyed of 150 pediatricians in korea. The survey comprised 10 questions related to infant oral health care and the recommended age a child go for their first dental visit. The results were as follows: 1. Most respondents had been referred children to a dentist for treating ECC and more than half of respondents reported that they did not do oral examination in their practice. 2. The majority of surveyed pediatricians are not advising patients to see the dentist by 1 year of age. 3. The surveyed pediatrician's awareness of infant oral health care is insufficient. The oral health education should be reinforced. 4. There is a need for increased infant oral health care education in the medical and dental communities.

Key Words: Infant oral health care, Age of first dental visit, Early childhood caries(ECC)