Dental Tribune U.S. Edition

Dental Tribune U.S. Edition | April 2012A10 MEEtiNgs starts at 4 p.m. and goes until the parks close (midnight for Disneyland and 10 p.m. for Disney California Adventure Park). Show your badge and save In addition to discounted Disney tick- ets, numerous other promotional of- fers and discounts are exclusively available to attendees of CDA Presents. Show your event badge to save at par- ticipating restaurants and attractions. Access the entire list through www. cdapresents.com. Here are just a few: • Aquarium of the Pacific; 100 Aquar- ium Way, Long Beach, (562) 590-3100; $10 off admission at the aquarium’s ticket window. Valid weekends before, during and after teh CDA meeting. • Bowers Museum; 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana, (714) 567-3600; 10 percent off gift shop or Tangata restaurant. • Flightdeck Air Combat Center; 1601 S. Sunkist, Suite A, Anaheim, (714) 937- 1511; $10 off $69 “Fox-1 Mission” — 45 minutes in authentic fighter jet flight simulator; reservations required. • Capt. Dave's Dolphin & Whale Safari; 24440 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point, (949) 488-2828; adults $55; chil- dren 12 and under $35; 20 percent off Monday through Friday; 10 percent off weekends; reservations required; must mention “Show your badge” at time of reservation. • Knott’s Berry Farm; 8039 Beach Blvd., Buena Park, (714) 220-5130; adults get tickets for the discounted rate: regular (ages 12+) $46.99; juniors (ages 3-11) and seniors (ages 62+) $24.99. • Pirate’s Dinner Adventure; 7600 Beach Blvd., Buena Park, (866) 439- 2469; 50 percent off general admis- sion; valid for up to nine people; dis- counted rate would be $29.13 including tax; mention code “AOCVCB” or “Show your badge and save” for discount; res- ervations required. (Source: California Dental Association and Anaheim/Orange County Visitor’s & Convention Bureau) Pediatricdentistsinnews asannualmeetingnears P ediatric dentistry recently received a slew of attention across the U.S. and Canada with a New York Times article reporting there has been a dramatic increase in preschoolers undergoing general anesthesia for sur- gery to treat severe cases of caries. News providers across North America picked up the story, drawing atten- tion to the issue on the eve of the 65th Annual Session of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), which is May 24-27 in San Diego. AAPD members were quoted in the Times and other media reporting the story. Among the many prominent speakers at the AAPD meeting will be Richard Chaet, DDS, of Scottsdale, Ariz., a practicing pediatric dentist for more than 30 years. Chaet spoke with Dental Tribune about the New York Times story and his AAPD presentation. Does what you’re seeing in your practice confirm what was reported by the Times? Yes, we definitely are seeing an increase in young children with severe cavities that require treatment under general anesthesia. It really is a shame because most of these severe problems can be prevented by early dental visits. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Dental As- sociation recommend infant oral health exams at one year of age. While this may sound young, the entire focus of this American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry speaker Richard Chaet, DDS, discusses caries and a new product, ICON By Robert Selleck, Managing Editor evaluation is education to the primary care giver on dental disease and preven- tion. If every parent re- ceived this information the amount of dental disease in young children would be virtually non-existent. What is your theory on what’s happening? Most parents are simply not aware of the impor- tance of early oral health visits. We are seeing many more families with both parents work- ing and the children placed in day care or supervised by other family mem- bers. Many times children are given any foods they like but which may not be as healthful as they should be for a balanced diet. Also, going to the dentist is the last thing on many parents’ “list” of things to do. Finally parents seem to be reluctant to brush their young child’s teeth if he/she starts fussing or crying. Their parenting skills are lacking; they don’t want to “force” anything on the child. The reality is that brushing teeth in infants and young children is a very important responsibility, and the child will stop fussing after a few days of gen- tle brushing. The goal is to modify the child’s behavior and not let the child modify the parents! Does your AAPD presentation tie into this? This product, ICON (DMG America), is used only in permanent teeth at this time. What it does address is the prob- lem teens have with getting cavities be- tween teeth and after orthodontic treat- ment. Frequent eating and drinking of snacks with high sugar content and acidity is causing an increase in cavities in this age group. Preventing cavities from progressing on the smooth surfaces of these teeth (in between and on the cheek and tongue side) is important. Once these teeth are “drilled and filled,” they are much more susceptible to recurrent cavities for the rest of their lives. ICON allows the den- tist to infiltrate the beginning cavity that is still in enamel with a resin to pre- vent further tooth destruction. How long have you been using ICON and what type of success have you seen? We were one of the first practices in the country to use this product, three years now this May. We recently submitted all of our patient data to Baylor University for evaluation. I just received its inde- pendent findings that ICON resin infil- tration is 100 percent successful in small cavities that are halfway through the enamel and 98 percent successful if the beginning cavity is all the way through the enamel to the dentin. I think this is wonderful because these are teeth that probably would have needed fillings sometime in the future. We also have had great success using this product on teeth that had white spots (early cavities) on the lip/cheek side of the teeth because of poor oral hygiene while wearing braces. We have been able to remove the white spots (cavities) and then fill the surfaces with the resin infiltration without drilling. This is a huge benefit to the patient be- cause there is no filling “margin” to get recurrent decay in the future. How receptive are parents and their children to ICON compared with simply monitoring early signs of decay? Most parents are receptive, especially those with frequent dental issues who want to pare their children from going through the same experiences. We ex- plain the benefits but also explain the alternative of careful monitoring of the cavity. The major obstacle is usually fi- nancial. Currently there is no dental in- surance code for billing so parents must pay out-of-pocket. Who should attend your session? All dentists who treat teens and are in- terested in alternatives to monitoring or filling every starting cavity. ICON resin infiltration is an excellent option. RICHARD CHAET, DDS, teaches his patients and their parents good habits for the development of healthy teeth and a lifetime of dental health. That sometimes involves advising parents to change their habits. An example Chaet frequently sees in his Scottsdale, Ariz., practice is “baby-bottle tooth decay,” which occurs when babies fall asleep with their bottles. The combination of the juice or for- mula in their mouths with the reduced saliva pro- duction during sleep can lead to the development of cavities. Getting parents to stop or at least- change to water easily addresses the problem. Chaet has a DDS degree from the University of Illi- nois, and an MS in pediatric dentistry from the Uni- versity of Iowa. He received board certification from the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. His practice’s website is at www.smilesbyapdo.com. Richard Chaet, DDS “ ANAHEIM, page A8 Explore the fun side of Anaheim with promotional offers and discounts exclusively available to attendees of CDA Presents. Find activities at www.cdapresents.com, then show your event badge to get your discount. Photo/Provided by AOCVCB