I’m a new mom. And being a mom, I want what is best for my child. Even if I am a medical doctor myself, I still bring my child to the Pediatric Dentist for these reasons:
FACTS:
Do you know that 9 out of 10 Filipino children have dental caries?
And 8 out of 10 Filipino children are suffering from dental infections?
Why did this happen?
Let me ask you, are you familiar with these?
“Baby teeth lang yan, mapapalitan lang yan!” (Those are just baby teeth, they will eventually be replaced!)
Candies and Chocolates ang dahilan ng sira ng ngipin. (Candies and chocolates are the culprits of dental caries!)
Plus, the, over-indulgence of Grandparents.
When I approached a new mom like me, and told her to see a pediatric dentist for her child, this was what she said. “Konte palang naman ang ngipin, wala naman sira pa, tsaka mahal magpadentist, diba?”
(There are only a few teeth are present, there are no problems yet, and it is too expensive to have a pediatric dentist check-up)
Alright, this is the fun part! Since this is a financial blog, let me show you how expensive it really is?
This is a cost for a complete Oral rehabilitation for a 2-3 year old child. (Data given by a Dr. Ryan De Guzman – Pediatric dentist).
Plus +++ Hospital confinement, since dental procedures done in very small children are usually done under general anesthesia.
I already showed you how much cost for a dental rehabilitation for child with dental problems.
Now let me show you, if you do preventive visits to a dentist, how much will it cost you?
It is important to note that a High-Risk patient needs to see a dentist every 3 months for Oral prophylaxis and fluoride application. (From American Pediatric Dentistry Association Recommendation).
For low-risk children (those with good dental hygiene given by their parents guided by regular visits to pediatric dentists) on the 3rd year might need only to visit twice a year. Further lowering the cost from 33,600 to 19,600.
Let me tell you a story:
Jam-jam did not undergo any prevention dental check-up. His parents love him, but like most parents, they see no reason to bring Jam-jam to a dentist. They say, those are just baby teeth and will be replaced after all. They do some brushing once a day and when Jam-jam was already 2 ½ years old they rejoiced on his independence, saying, “my son can brush his own teeth on his own.” Since then, they let Jam-jam brush on his own, whenever they remember.
When he turned 3 years old, his teeth look like this, and needs a complete rehabilitation.
Let us compare those who did not get prevention and those that did.
.
Looking at above table, Jam-jam did not had preventive check-ups from 0-2 years old, and had complete rehabilitation at age 3, and automatically became high-risk child, so, check-ups should be done strictly 4 times a year. Plus, the child already suffered pain, infection and even malnutrition.
While a child that had prevention visits, even before having a tooth, enjoyed every visit to a dentist, since there was no previous trauma suffered. Also, if prevention is done well, the parents are informed well how to take care of your child’s teeth, then in the third year, the cost and number of visits become even less, so, more savings in the part of the children. Those savings can be channeled to child’s future education.
Let me end this post with the following important points to think about:
- Early Dental care as a need for your Child. As they say, prevention is better than cure. Prevention is always cheaper than cure.
- Prevention is needed to prevent the following complications.
Complications with Dental cavities in children:
- Pain – if you already felt tooth pain, imagine your child having to go with it.
- Infection – even greater problem.
- Malnutrition – an aching tooth can hinder eating and even nutrition. You don’t want that, since, nutrition is very critical to a developing mind.
3. It is important to seek knowledge on how to take care of your child’s teeth. Ask your pediatric dentist. They will teach you how.
4. The money you save on prevention can let you save for your child’s future.
Finally, let me ask you a final question.
OR
I acknowledge Dr. Ryan De Guzman, pediatric dentist of Cavite Pediatric Dentistry Center, located in South Asian Medical Center in Molino, Cavite for giving me his lecture, pictures and expertise regarding this subject.
Wait for my next post on this series. This will include: basics on how to take care of your child’s budding teeth: best position in brushing your child’s teeth, choosing the right toothpaste, and many others.
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Any concerns, please don’t be shy to contact me here.
For those who would like to visit, Cavite Pediatric Dentistry Center, they are located in South Asian Medical Center, in Molino, Cavite. They are open from Tuesdays – Fridays 9-6pm and Saturdays 9-5pm, Sunday 9-3pm. They also conduct Puppet Shows for kids and parents for a more fun learning in taking care of your teeth.
Disclaimer:
This is a not a paid advertisement. I just love and support their advocacy in promoting dental health among Filipino children. The same advocacy I had when I was a Barrio Doctor.
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Your method of describing everything in this post is genuinely
fastidious,all be able to easily understand it, Thanks a
lot.
Doc, did you have the next series for this ba? Love all your advices
Thank you. Just browse. There’s a lot. 🙂