Kids and Snacks

Here is an interesting article published in The Washington Post. Dentists weighed in about what kids should and should not eat. These foods don't have to be totally eliminated from the diet - just limit them and brush/floss!

Brush. Floss. Repeat for Years.

I asked four dentists with extensive experience what they would banish from kids' diets:

- Soda and Gatorade. "Pure sugar-delivery systems," is how Dana Greenwald described them. "Get your child to become a water drinker," says Brian Brumbaugh.

- Raisins, or anything that sticks to the pits and grooves of the teeth.

- Anything that the child eats after his or her teeth are brushed at night, especially milk in a bottle. This is a major cause of early-onset tooth decay.

All four dentists said that two minutes of tooth-brushing is ideal for children. All four also allowed how difficult it can be to get a child to brush for anywhere near that long.

Flossing is even more of a challenge, mostly because children don't have the fine motor skills to do it. Try flossers, brightly colored plastic wands with a length of floss at the end. "Just because you're not flossing the traditional way doesn't mean it's bad," Samaddar says. "If you do it some way or another and it's marginally effective, it's still more effective than not doing it at all. Ideally you want to do it seven days a week, but if you're doing it four days a week, that's pretty darn good."

Click here to read the full story.

New Study Confirms the Effectiveness of Xylitol on Tooth Decay

As many of you know, I am a strong supporter of getting kids to the dentist by age 1 so that we can head off tooth decay. Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is a significant health problem today affecting a large population of kids.

One "tool in my belt" against ECC is the use of Xylitol products. Xylitol is a natural substance found in fibrous vegetables and fruit, as well as in corn cobs and various hardwood trees like birch. To read more about Xylitol and its use in the dental field, click here.

A multitude of studies have suggested that Xylitol is an effective treatment that prevents tooth decay. We sell many of these products in the office and you can also find them online and even in stores.

A new study has now re-confirmed the effectiveness of Xylitol in younger kids. As reported in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medpage Today reports as follows:

"These results provide evidence for the first time . . . that xylitol is effective for the prevention of decay in primary teeth of toddlers," the researchers said.

Some children -- especially those in poor socioeconomic situations -- are susceptible to severe tooth decay early in life -- a condition known as early childhood caries (ECC).

The disease has been linked to several species of bacteria, particularly mutans streptococci, with its ability to colonize tooth surfaces and produce lactic acid that demineralizes tooth enamel.

Xylitol has been shown effective in preventing tooth decay through its selective antibacterial action against mutans streptococci, the researchers said.

***

"Our results suggest that exposure to xylitol in a twice-daily topical oral syrup during primary tooth eruption could prevent up to 70% of decayed teeth," the researchers said.

However, the researchers cautioned that use of Xylitol is only one means to fight tooth decay and that brushing, flossing and regular visits to the dentist are imperative:

The researchers said their findings support the position of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and of an NIH consensus statement that "xylitol is an important tool for the prevention of dental caries."

They added that more work is needed to develop strategies for the public health application of xylitol.

In an accompanying editorial, Burton L. Edelstein, DDS, MPH, of Columbia, added that the report highlights the need for more work in refining and standardizing risk assessment, creating interventions, and developing prevention and management tools.

He added that the findings are "encouraging" and "hold strong promise to significantly dampen ECC occurrence." They also "suggest the addition of this approach to pharmacologic management in public health and individual care settings."

While xylitol "will likely become a routine element of ECC control," Dr. Edelstein said, the high prevalence of tooth decay (24 to 41%) even among treated children "reminds us that no single silver bullet is going to solve the problem of ECC."

Read the full article here.

Tiny-K Board Membership

I was asked recently to join the Douglas County tiny-k Early Intervention Board of Directors here in Lawrence, KS. I was honored to accept the invitation and explore more about what this great organization does for our community. We had our first meeting this week and I will continue to update you.

In their own words:

tiny-k Early Intervention is the agency in Douglas County, Kansas, that provides support and services to children, ages birth to three who have special needs, and their families.

tiny-k works with parents and child care providers to help them learn strategies and carry out interventions with their child throughout the day.

tiny-k provides support in the child’s natural environments using already existing routines and activities.

tiny-k staff use Evidence-Based Practices in their interaction with families and children.

tiny-k services are provided at no-cost to the family. tiny-k provides free developmental screenings to all children, birth to three years old, in Douglas County.