PAINFUL TEETH KEEP KIDS AWAKE,
DISTRACT THEM IN SCHOOL
-Parents encouraged to schedule checkups in observance of February's National
Children's Dental Health Month-
PARSIPPANY, NJ (February,
2003) – They're
irritable, they can't concentrate, and their
teachers are wondering about learning problems
when they should be asking the children whether
their mouths hurt.
It sounds obvious, but on the list of variables
that affect schoolchildren's learning, painful
cavities are relative newcomers. Parents and
teachers have been told to troubleshoot student
distraction with everything from vision tests
to Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) screenings,
but a trip to a dentist might be in order.
"Pain in the mouth can keep kids awake
at night, distract them in class, keep them from
playing with their friends and make it difficult
for them to eat," said Dr. Scott Navarro,
Dental Director, Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey
(Delta Dental). "If a child is distracted
by sneezing from hay fever or the trauma of asthma
attacks, doctors can intervene with various treatments.
The surgeon general has pointed out that tooth
decay is more common than either of these conditions,
and we can and should treat it too," Dr.
Navarro said.
Tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood
disease - five times more common than asthma
and seven times more common than hay fever, according
to the surgeon general's report, Oral Health
in America, which was released in 2000.
Meanwhile, a study1 released at the
end of 2002 reports that 47 percent of the 35,938
children in the study did not receive the generally
recommended two annual dental visits, and 20
percent didn't have a single dental visit. The
researchers speculated that parents might not
know or understand the recommended guidelines
for dental checkups.
Reclaiming millions of lost hours of schooling
The surgeon general's report also stated that
more than 51 million school hours are lost
to dental-related illness each year. When dental
problems are treated and children are no longer
in pain, both their learning and school attendance
improve, according to the American Journal
of Public Health.
"In addition to scheduling regular checkups,
parents can periodically check their children's
mouths for signs of periodontal disease, including
bleeding, swollen and/or bright red gums, persistent
bad breath and gums that have receded from the
teeth," Dr. Navarro said.
Delta
Dental Plan of New Jersey, Inc., is New Jersey’s
and Connecticut's leading dental benefits
carrier, providing coverage to more than
one million people through contracts with
employers in New Jersey and Connecticut.
The Delta Dental Plan system is a national
network of independently operated, not-for-profit
dental service corporations specializing
in providing dental benefits programs for
employee groups throughout the country. For
more information visit us on the Web at www.deltadentalnj.com.
