Using Anticipatory Guidance to Provide Early Dental Intervention

Author(s): Arthur J. Nowak, Paul S. Casamassimo
Journal: JADA
Volume (number): Vol. 126
Month, Year: August 1995
Major topic: early dental intervention
Minor topic(s): using anticipatory guidance to provide early dental intervention
Type of Article: Clinical Practice
Main Purpose: Developing an anticipatory guidance program for dental health.
Overview of method of research: Informative
Findings: Studies show the incidence of dental caries seem to be concentrated in about 20 to 25 percent of the U.S. child population, nursing bottle caries rates remain dramatically high among certain minority populations, and the measurement of various types and numbers of cariogenic organisms in the mouth does not correlate well with the number of carious lesions in individual children’s teeth.
Key points/Summary: Just as medicine has used anticipatory guidance to educate parents about general health issues for young children, so must the dental profession educate these same parents about children’s oral health. Dentists have continually relied on the infectious- disease model for a basic and often repetitive generic message of brushing, flossing and using fluoride. Current recommendations for anticipatory guidance in pediatric dental care are areas such as oral development, fluoride adequacy, oral hygiene and health, habits nutrition and diet and injury prevention. Anticipatory guidance forces interaction by requiring the clinician to seek information about a child’s development from the parent and by directing the clinician to develop individualized plans or strategies. The anticipatory guidance avoids repetition of the same message presented in disease-based programs. Applying anticipatory guidance to dental preventive education is an organized way for all dental providers to enjoy the attention of parents and be more successful in preventive dentistry.
Assessment of article: Good ideas and resources presented in article