For many parents, dental care becomes a source of stress long before pain ever appears. When you can’t afford to take my child to the dentist, it can feel overwhelming, guilt-inducing and isolating. The reality is that many families face the same challenge, and there are ways to protect your child’s oral health without ignoring your financial reality.
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Dental care can be very expensive and ongoing. Even for children. For this reason, it is important to take the responsibility regarding your child’s dental health seriously. Tooth decay is considered a form of child neglect and abuse. In today’s day and age, with so much information available to us, there is no reason for a child to have tooth decay. More and more children grow up without any decay. You never know when your financial circumstances might change for the worse, and dental care may become a luxury and not within your reach. Therefore, I would like to urge all the parents to focus on prevention of any dental problems right from the time your baby is born. Please refer to more of my articles on dental care for babies and toddlers on this website.
Prevention of dental problems and good dental care, start as soon as your baby is born. It does not start when your baby start teething or worst, when the permanent teeth erupt. This goes hand in hand with establishing a healthy diet for your child, especially a diet low in sugar. Unfortunately, it is a little more complicated than just cutting out or limiting sugar intake. Please refer to my article: The impact your child’s food and drink choices have on their teeth.
By being vigilant of food and drink choices and being pro-active with a good cleaning routine, lots of dental problems can be prevented. If it is within your reach, take your child to the dentist and/or hygienist twice a year for an examination and cleaning. If you need to be mindful about money, try to take your child at least once a year.
Here are a few suggestions to help with more affordable dental care if your financial situation doesn’t allow you to do the above:
- Try to look in your child’s mouth for dark marks or shadows resembling decay. If there are any discoloration, it is worth having it seen to by a dentist or hygienist. Even if it is a very small cavity and your child has no pain or discomfort, it is not going to heal or improve by itself. The cavity will get bigger and deeper and more expensive to treat. Often what shows up as a tiny cavity on the outer part of the tooth, has already destroyed the tooth from the inside. The severity of a decay can’t always be judged by the size of the cavity visible to the naked eye.
- Brush with fluoride toothpaste twice a day. Fluoride is a great protection against decay and in my opinion is essential in dental care.
- Reduce sugar intake. Sugar is greatly responsible for increasing the risk of tooth decay. Other factors also play a role in good dental health, but the reduction of sugar in the diet, will have a big and positive impact on your child’s dental health.
- Interdental care. By brushing alone, we only clean 60% of the teeth. Using dental floss or interdental brushes will clean the remaining 40% of the teeth. In young children, there are natural spaces between the baby teeth. These spaces will get smaller and start closing as the permanent teeth begin to erupt. Once these spaces are closed and the teeth are touching, it is important to remove trapped plaque and food particles with floss or interdental brushes to reduce the risk of tooth decay and gum disease.
- Wash away food particles with water after meals. It is sometimes difficult for children to notice or feel that food is stuck between the teeth. Encourage them to rinse their mouths after eating. Not only will the water dissolve the sugar, but it can assist in dislodging food particles caught between the teeth or in the deep fissures of the molars. This will reduce the risk of tooth decay.
- Allow treats at mealtimes rather than allowing your child to snack all day long. Every time you eat something, the pH of the mouth drops. Tooth decay typically occurs at a lower pH. Saliva will help to restore the pH of the mouth, but this needs some time. If your child eats non-stop, the pH of the mouth doesn’t have sufficient time to increase to high enough levels to minimise the risk of tooth decay.
- Outreach programs from the department of health. Dental professionals who work for the department of health often engage in initiatives where they reach out to communities by making dental care accessible and affordable. Keep your eyes open for information or make a phone call and enquire about such initiatives.
- Sponsorship from dental companies. Toothpaste and toothbrush manufacturers sometimes host activities where dental professionals do free dental screenings and give dental care information to the public.
- Oral Health Month promotions by companies or private practitioners. Once a year, usually in September, South Africa celebrates Dental Health Month with the focus on improving the public’s perception of oral care. Some companies and private practitioners might run special prices and/or services during that period.
- Government clinics & hospitals. Advice, information, and sometimes basic care are available from your local clinic. If they are not able to assist you, they will put you in touch with someone who can assist you. Some government hospitals have dental clinics that are mainly used for training purposes. At these dental clinics the dental students and post graduate students can provide dental treatment at minimal cost to the public.
- Screenings at school. This is another initiative funded either by the government or privately. With the permission of the parents, children can have free dental screenings at the school. Recommendations and advice are given.
- Ask around as some dentists have a policy to do a certain amount of pro-bono work.
- Dental treatment, like many other things, is often more expensive in the big cities. Prices are driven by demand and socioeconomic factors. It might be a good idea to enquire about prices of dental treatment in surrounding areas, smaller cities and even in more rural areas.
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