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Through oral screening, health professionals
can demonstrate to parents the growth and development
of the infant’s or child’s mouth and can
determine the infant’s or child’s oral
health status.[5]
A dental chair is not needed to perform
an oral screening. For infants and children under
age 3, the health professional and the parent should
sit face to face with their knees touching with
the
child placed in the health professional’s lap
and the parent's lap. The child’s head should
be nestled securely against the health professional’s
abdomen, with the child facing the parent. By age
3, children are able to lie supine on an examination
table or to sit in front of the parent, with both
the child and the parent facing the health professional
so that the parent can help position and steady the
child.
With a gloved hand, the health professional
lifts the lips, feels the soft tissues, checks the
health of the teeth, and looks throughout the mouth.
Virtually any type of lighting (e.g., a flashlight,
a portable dental light, an examination light, a headlamp)
is adequate for an oral screening. A tongue depressor
or child-sized toothbrush can be used to move the
lips to view the teeth. A dental mirror can provide
better visibility, and a dental explorer may enable
a more thorough screening, but neither is necessary.
When performing the oral screening,
the health professional should
- Determine whether tooth
eruption and loss are proceeding according to
schedule (see Tooth
Eruption and Loss section, this module).
- Assess tooth irregularities and alignment of
teeth. (See Module 3.)
- Assess oral hygiene (e.g., plaque and debris
on the teeth).
- Demonstrate to the parent how to remove plaque
and debris using the appropriate size toothbrush
correctly. (See Module 4,
section 4.1.)
- Assess for tooth decay (see Module
3, section 3.5, Dental Caries),
malocclusions
(improper alignment of the jaws and teeth) (see
Malocclusion section, this module), oral injuries (see Module
6),
and other risk factors (see Table
1 and Table
2, Risk and Protective Factors, this module).
Health professionals should document oral health history,
clinical findings, and recommended follow-up in the
infant’s or child’s permanent health record.
  
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