By Angela Hill

Pediatricians issue warning on tooth decay

Jun 1, 2011 | 6:38 AM

In some Canadian Aboriginal communities, more than 90 per cent of children have cavities.

This has lead pediatricians across North America to issue a statement over the need for immediate attention to the tooth decay syndrome known as Early Childhood Caries.

“Both from our community visits, but also from the knowledge and awareness of the pediatricians on the committee, it was recognized that early childhood caries in indigenous communities is a real, substantial issue,” said Dr. James Irvine, the Canadian co-author of the statement and medical health officer for Northern Saskatchewan.

“I think a lot of the indigenous children have not benefited from a lot of the major initiatives as it relates to oral health, as much as some of the children in other parts of the country.”

The decay can cause issues with chewing, problems with self-esteem and impact the child’s ability to grow.

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Oral health relates to overall health and well-being children and Early Childhood Caries is the most common paediatric infectious disease, Irvine said

The statement reflects what Prince Albert dental health educator, Cathleen Lesperance, has been seeing in her work.

Earlier this year, she, along with the dental health promotions department, released a study about dental health in children in the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region.

While the pediatric societies focused on indigenous children exclusively and Lesperance looked across the community, about 40 per cent of the population identifies themselves as being First Nations and Metis, she said.

“Early Childhood Caries … dental disease in general, is linked to poverty and is also linked to access to care. All of those issues go hand-in-hand to contribute to the challenges we are seeing here, in the area.”

One of the largest barriers is access to preventative care, she said.

The barrier could get worse with the closure of the National School of Dental Therapy at the end of June.

“In our case the dental therapy school has been really quite positive in allowing families to access dental care they might not normally access due to lack of coverage, or affordability, things like that,” Lesperance said.

“There is certainly a lot of treatment options for kids in the city, but I do have concerns for the parents who don’t have that coverage and will deal with some of those access to care issues.”

According to the pediatric statement prevention is the most-cost effective, long-term solution, but fluoridation of drinking water and collaborations between organizations and health care workers are also important.

“Certainly the idea of providing service through appropriate staffing such as dental therapists and they’ve done an admiral job is many locations, the idea that the more we can do to support that, the better,” Irvine said.

“No one simple measure will make a difference, it’s a multi-faceted approach (needed).”

Lesperance says she believes prevention needs to start with pregnant women, providing them with early access to care, screening, information about oral health and referrals to dental offices.

ahill@panow.com