Dental caries is the most common chronic infectious disease among children, especially of school age. A recent survey on children (ages 6-11) revealed that the percentage of children with caries in primary teeth was 51%, and for permanent teeth (ages 9-11) the percentage was 31%.
But can this disease affect children’s performance in school?
Many studies have proved that dental problems affect school performance negatively. In California alone, an estimated 504,000 children (ages 5-17) missed at least one school day in 2007 due to a toothache or other oral health concern.
The majority of these children (60%) report one missed day of school due to a dental problem, while the remaining 40% report missing two or more days.
A 2011 study in North Carolina found that students with poor dental health were nearly three times more likely than their healthy peers to miss school due to dental pain.
Actually that depends on the severity of the dental caries, and whether it has symptoms or not.
The initial carious lesion has no symptoms, and it is only discovered by a routine dental check-up. This type of caries has no effect on the child’s performance in the school.
But when caries becomes advanced, it can have severe annoying symptoms. First, the child will feel pain on eating, especially sweet foods and cold drinks. The child will be afraid to eat. Then the pain may become throbbing, continuous and not responding to analgesics. This type of pain may need emergency treatment. At this stage the child will not be able to sleep or be attentive in the classroom, and usually he will miss the school day.
Sometimes dental caries becomes more advanced, and can cause swelling from a dental abscess (a collection of pus). An acute abscess will not only cause severe pain, but it will also affect eating. The child may not be able to speak properly. Fever and poor overall health are also symptoms of a severe dental abscess.
With all these problems, the child will feel distracted and annoyed. He will not be able to join his schoolmates in the playground or other school activities.
That is why the routine dental checkup is very important. The ADA recommends regular dental check-ups, including a visit to the dentist within six months of the eruption of the first tooth, and no later than the child’s first birthday. It should be done every three or six months depending on the caries experience of each child, and whether he has any of the risk factors or not.
Because of early routine check-ups, the dentist will be able to discover the dental caries from the beginning at its initial stage, when it will be easily treated. Sometimes the child doesn’t even need to have a filling, as topical fluoride application may be enough to halt the process.
Also, prophylactic measures like topical fluoride application, pit and fissure sealants and professional plaque control should be applied as required. It can prevent the caries from developing, and allow your child to enjoy school with no pain.
Contact a dentist or dental hygienist at Water Brook Dental in Washington DC for a dental check-up and other dental needs. Water Brook Dental has two locations in Washington DC. The Columbia Heights location is very conveniently located to Downtown DC, Northeast DC, Adams Morgan, Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, U-Street Corridor, Mount Pleasant and many other parts of Washington. The Eastern Ave NW location is conveniently located to Downtown Silver Spring, Takoma Park MD, Silver Spring MD, Colesville, and other parts of Maryland as well as Northern Virginia and other parts of Virginia.
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