Study Examines First Dental Exams and Well-Baby Visits

Study Examines First Dental Exams and Well-Baby Visits

According to a study appearing in the American Journal of Public Health’s February issue, parents and caregivers who follow the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommended well-baby visit schedule for 1-year-olds and 2-year-olds are three times more likely to have taken the child for a dental checkup than those with fewer pediatrician visits.

Funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, researchers studied children from birth though age 41 months to determine if there was a correlation between well-baby medical appointments and the timing of the first dental exam. Based on a subject group of 6,322 children enrolled in Iowa’s Medicaid program, the authors found no correlation between the number of well-baby visits and an initial dental examination in children younger than 12 months.

In fact, just 2% of subjects received dental care during their first year of life, suggesting a possible lack of awareness among medical practitioners and parents/caregivers about the oral systemic link. After the child’s first birthday, the probability of an initial dental visit increased in proportion to the number of well-baby visits. By comparison to the first group, children between the ages of 1 and 2 were 2.96 times more likely to have had an initial dental exam, while those between the ages 2 and 3 had a 1.25 higher chance of receiving initial dental care. These findings led the authors to conclude the number of well-baby visits from ages 1 to 3 is closely related to the timing of the first dental exam.

Alarmingly, the team also found that just 25% of study participants had received an initial dental examination by 3 years of age, despite 97% of the subjects having had one or more well-baby visits. In addition, by age 41 months, 30% of the subjects had not yet seen a dental professional.

In conclusion, the authors recommend that future policies do more to promote the importance of oral health to overall health, as taught to parents/caregivers by pediatricians during well-baby visits in the first year of life. When access to dental care is limited, medical practitioners may offset potential oral health disparities through oral health screenings and the professional application of fluoride during well-baby visits.