Paediatric Population Oral Health Initiatives

Tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood disease, affecting almost 1 in 2 preschool children in Singapore. Left untreated, it can cause pain, infection and affect the growth and development of teeth. It may even have an impact on the general growth of the child.

The NDCS Paediatric Population Oral Health Initiatives aim to direct efforts upstream by increasing oral health awareness and promoting healthy dietary and oral health habits from an early age. With adequate prevention and early intervention, tooth decay could be avoided and invasive or extensive dental treatment for children may not be required. At an individual level, this would reduce unnecessary pain and anxiety related to dental treatment and offer an early start to lifelong good oral health. At the population level, this could reduce treatment-related healthcare costs.

As young children typically do not see dentists unless they present with overt signs and symptoms, we propose a multi-prong approach by non-dental personnel who in their respective roles, have frequent contact with children from an early age. Our approach aims to equip non-dental personnel (e.g. medical healthcare providers, early childhood educators) with basic skills in screening for tooth decay and tips on oral health education. This could help to increase awareness of oral health for children and their families, whom may in turn seek help earlier if they notice initial signs of tooth decay.

The NDCS Paediatric Population Oral Health Initiatives include:

1: Infant Oral Health Programme@NDCS

The Infant Oral Health Programme is targeted at infants and their families to help them develop good oral health behaviours and maintain optimal oral health. The attending paediatric dentist will assess the child’s risk of tooth decay and dental development, advise appropriate and customized preventive strategies and offer guidance for parents at each stage of the child’s dental development.

2: Early Childhood Educator Training

Early childhood educators interact with children closely on a daily basis. As part of their existing roles, they are required to screen children’s mouths, hands and feet for common childhood infections such as Hand-Foot-Mouth-Disease (HFMD).

In this context, these educators are in a prime position to screen children for tooth decay if given the appropriate training. This could potentially increase oral health awareness for children and their families.

NDCS participated in the Mission I’mPossible 2 Programme, partnering with KKH Paediatrics and PAP Community Fund (PCF) preschools to train early childhood educators to screen for tooth decay and make appropriate referrals to dentists as required.

3: Family Medicine Doctors and Nurses Training

Young children are more likely to see a medical healthcare provider than a dentist. Whether it is for compulsory vaccinations, well-child development assessments or for the common cough and cold, medical visits in early childhood are far more common than a dental checkup. For this reason, it puts medical professionals like family medicine doctors and nurses in a prime position to contribute to oral health care in early childhood. NDCS is collaborating with Singhealth Polyclinics with plans to equip our medical colleagues to offer basic preventive oral health advice, and make appropriate dental referrals if they identify or suspect tooth decay in children.

4: Community Nurses Training

Community nurses from Family Nexus @Our Tampines Hub (FamNex@OTH) are trained to screen children for tooth decay. These nurses are also equipped with basic knowledge in oral health to give age-appropriate preventive advice to parents and caregivers.

However, screening for tooth decay in the community setting does not replace the need to see a dentist. These nurses are trained to make the appropriate referral to dentists for further evaluation if they identify or suspect tooth decay. Even for children who do not present with obvious tooth decay, nurses will recommend regular dental visits for a proper checkup. This can help children and families to seek earlier care before invasive dental treatment is required.

5: Pre-natal Oral Health Programme/Maternal Child Health

Plans to include pre-natal and maternal oral health are in the pipeline to widen our outreach of oral health prevention and care from early childhood.