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The 86th Dental Squadron on Ramstein will host its biannual free Children’s Clinic from 8 a.m. to noon Nov. 20. This event is generally held twice a year: once in the spring and then again in fall, during which time dentists and dental technicians are available to provide free dental examinations, X-rays and cleanings for children and baby exams for infants and toddlers.
To prepare for this upcoming event, the dental squadron is asking questions that parents have about their child’s dental health and will give readers the opportunity to submit their answers for a chance to be entered into a prize drawing held during the event.
To be entered into the prize drawing, all responses should be sent to LittleTeethBigSmiles@yahoo.com with a name and contact information. The dental squadron will anonymously post all correct responses received in the next Kaiserslautern American.
Q: What is preventive dentistry?
Q: When should preventive dentistry start?
Q: How can parents help prevent tooth decay?
Q: Are baby teeth really that important to a child?
For questions about the event, call Master Sgt. Eric Anderson or Senior Airman Rachel Hentrich at 479-2210.
Quick Tips for Busy Parents: “I Don’t Want To Brush!”
According to the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. William C. Berlocher, “A pediatric dentist’s average day in the office includes a number of encounters with children who are initially not cooperative. Sometimes this uncooperative behavior is a result of a child being anxious in a new and foreign environment. Other times it is simply a child manifesting some recently appreciated control in their lives.”
Fear of the unknown is usually handled quite easily using several basic behavior guidance tools, which are:
» Tell/Show/Do: a technique that involves explanation of procedures in age-appropriate levels (Tell), demonstration of the procedure in a carefully defined, nonthreatening setting (Show) and, without deviating from the explanation and demonstration, completion of the procedure (Do).
» Positive Reinforcement: Positive feedback is used to reward desired behavior and strengthen the recurrence of these behaviors.
» Modeling: a technique that involves allowing children to observe activities that are new to them by watching other more experienced children engage in these activities.
“Children who have discovered they have some control in their lives and are resistive to their parent’s direction and instruction can be a more challenging issue,” Dr. Berlocher said. “A term that I’ve found to be extremely useful in these situations is ‘cheerful persistence.’”
First of all, parents need to be positive and keep a smile on their face when working with their child. Parents give many nonverbal cues to their children. If you go into a tooth-brushing session looking like you’re going to war, more than likely it will be just that.
Secondly, oral hygiene is something that works only if it is undertaken on a regular basis. Therefore, daily brushing is a must. Avoiding tooth brushing because of the potential for a clash between a child and parent dramatically increases the potential for development of dental cavities.
(Courtesy of the 86th Dental Squadron)
