How to provide oral health care for school-age children

School-age children are an important period for developing their bodies and knowledge, as well as a period of rapid growth of the dental system. They have gone through three stages of dentition: primary dentition, mixed dentition, and young permanent dentition. School age children are the period of formation of oral health concepts and behaviors, as well as the best time to accept new knowledge, establish new concepts, and cultivate lifelong good oral hygiene habits. Good oral health care for school age children will play a positive role in their lifelong oral health, so oral health care for school age children is very important. Zhou Hongyan, a pediatric dentist at Jiangsu Provincial Stomatological Hospital, stated that attention should be paid to the oral health of school-age children from the following six aspects:
1. Develop good oral hygiene habits. Children aged 3 to 6 are unable to complete oral hygiene on their own due to their young age and short attention span. Parents should help their children brush their teeth, choose a suitable toothbrush, and it is best to brush their teeth in the morning and evening with the child, and rinse their mouth after meals. When conditions permit, parents should help children brush their teeth carefully and thoroughly once a day (preferably at night). Children aged 6 and above should brush their teeth every morning and evening under the supervision of their parents.
2. Timely treatment of deciduous tooth caries. The age of 3 to 8 is the peak period for children to suffer from dental caries in their primary teeth, which can have many adverse effects on their local and systemic health. The local effects mainly manifest as decreased chewing function and ectopic eruption of inherited permanent teeth, resulting in malocclusion. The main manifestation of systemic effects is that when primary dental caries is severe, infection can cause systemic diseases such as acute cellulitis, acute sepsis, nephritis, thrombocytopenic purpura, rheumatism, and arachnoiditis.
Therefore, once primary dental caries occurs, parents should promptly bring their children to the hospital for treatment. Early treatment of primary dental caries takes a short time, reduces children's pain, and achieves good treatment results. A complete and healthy deciduous dentition can perform normal chewing function, ensuring the normal growth and development of permanent teeth and maxillofacial bones, which is beneficial for children's accurate pronunciation and guiding the normal eruption of permanent teeth.
3. Carefully protect the first permanent molar. The first permanent molars, also known as "sixth age teeth," are four large teeth in the last part of the oral cavity that erupt in children around the age of six. Six-year-old teeth play a very important role in the relationship between teeth and jaw, serving as the main pillar of the upper and lower occlusal relationship and assuming the greatest chewing function. Six year old teeth are very prone to caries 2-4 years after eruption. If caries is not treated in a timely manner, it can further develop into pulpitis, apicitis, and even form malocclusion due to the loss of caries.
Timely pit and fissure sealing is the best method to protect sixth aged teeth after complete eruption. Pit and fissure sealing is an effective caries prevention method, especially suitable for children with deep pits or cavities. Moreover, the use of pit and fissure sealing does not require the removal of healthy dental tissue, which does not cause damage to teeth, is painless, has low cost, is simple to operate, and takes less time. Its long-term benefits are far greater than those of teeth without pit and fissure sealing.
If caries has already occurred in the sixth age teeth, timely treatment is necessary to prevent the further development of caries and avoid causing lifelong regret.
4. Quit bad oral habits and actively prevent malocclusion. Common malocclusion is often caused by long-term poor feeding habits and oral habits such as finger sucking, tongue spitting, lip biting, and mouth breathing. It can also be caused by multiple primary molars decaying and premature loss. To prevent the cause, the first step is to establish good chewing habits, actively treat deciduous tooth caries, restore chewing function, and prevent malocclusion caused by decreased chewing function and insufficient jaw bone development; Secondly, it is necessary to break bad oral habits and prevent malocclusion caused by finger sucking, lip biting, mouth breathing, night grinding, etc. If it cannot be quit through persuasion, it is necessary to seek medical attention in a timely manner and help them quit as soon as possible through correction; At the same time, parents should also raise their awareness of malocclusion and promptly correct it.
5. Actively treat gingivitis. Teenagers in middle school are prone to developing adolescent gingivitis, which is related to changes in hormone levels during growth and development. In addition, factors such as increased food intake and frequency required for physical development, heavy learning tasks, and neglect of oral hygiene. The main manifestations are redness and swelling of the front teeth gums, bleeding from gums during brushing or biting food, and bad breath in the mouth.
The method of preventing and treating adolescent gingivitis is to effectively brush teeth, and remember not to stop brushing teeth due to bleeding during brushing. Additionally, dental floss should be used before or after brushing. If there is bleeding from frequent brushing and tartar formation, it is necessary to promptly seek professional medical treatment.
6. Prevent dental trauma. The age range of 7 to 9 is the peak period for dental trauma in school-age children, with previous teeth being the main cause, mainly caused by falls and impacts during exercise. After trauma, it is often manifested as tooth loosening, fracture, gum bleeding, etc. Due to the fact that most of the injured teeth during this period are permanent teeth that are no longer replaceable, once an injury occurs, it may leave a lifelong regret that is difficult to make up for.
Therefore, once school-age children experience dental trauma, they should seek medical attention immediately. If the entire tooth falls off, gently rinse the dirt on the surface of the tooth with cold water or tap water. Do not brush or scrape the root of the tooth. Return the cleaned tooth to the alveolar cavity, or soak it in fresh cold milk, physiological saline, or under the tongue. Quickly seek medical attention, preferably within 30 minutes. Encourage children to use protective dental braces during exercise. Protective dental braces are usually made of polymer materials such as silicone, which can protect teeth when the face and head are hit.
Summary: Oral health care for school-age children not only relies on children and parents, but also an important part of public health work in kindergartens and schools. The advantages of oral health care in kindergartens and schools are that children are relatively concentrated during their school years, which is easy to organize and manage, and there is a comprehensive education system available for the implementation of oral health projects. Therefore, for the healthy growth of children, parents and education departments should work together.