Preface

The idea for an infant oral health manual for non-dental health professionals originated in 1996 as a follow-up to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded “Your Child’s Teeth” program. After the dental team made direct presentations of infant oral health messages to expectant and new mothers in various programs, the directors of several of these agencies requested training of their staff to incorporate infant and toddler oral health education into their general education program.

A “Train the Trainers” project such as this one, designed to enable far wider dissemination of oral health messages, suggested the need for a manual, CD ROM and now a continuing education course specifically for Head Start employees.

We are pleased to bring you this course sponsored by The New York State Dental Foundation and funded by “Indirect Vitamins Purchasers Antitrust Litigation Settlement” administered by the New State Attorney General.

Participating faculty are board certified or board eligible in pediatric dentistry or specially trained in dental public health. They have worked together to provide up-to-date information on the most significant issues in infant / toddler / pre-school oral health:

• Prenatal Care, Pregnancy and Oral Health
• Oral Pathology of the Infant and Toddler
• Oral Manifestation of Systemic Disease
• Tooth Formation, Eruption and Teething
• Nutritive/Non-Nutritive Sucking
• Acquisition of the Oral Flora
• Oral Hygiene for Infants and Toddlers – Preventing Early Childhood Caries
• The Initial Oral Evaluation
• Benefits of Fluoride and Understanding Dental Caries
• Diet and Nutrition
• Nutritional Predictors of Changes in Oral Structure Integrity in Children
• Oral Facial Trauma and Child Abuse
• Simple Rules for Good Oral Health
• Anticipatory Guidance Summary