COMPONENTS OF ORAL HEALTH SUPERVISION
Family Preparation
Just as health professionals prepare for oral health supervision, families need to prepare, too. Families can gather health information, prepare questions, and complete forms in anticipation of the visit. This step is an essential component of oral health supervision, and health professionals should give the family information about how to prepare.
Interview Questions
The interview addresses key issues (e.g., oral development, teething/tooth eruption, oral hygiene, feeding and eating practices, exposure to fluoride, and injury prevention) during the health supervision visit. The interview needs to pick up information from previous health supervision visits as well as to address current issues specific to the age and development of the infant, child, or adolescent. Health professionals need to assess whether the child, adolescent, or family has assumed personal responsibility for oral health and demonstrates mastery and consistent use of preventive oral health care techniques. As the child, and later the adolescent, becomes more responsible, health professionals should discuss these issues directly with the child or adolescent.
Risk Assessment
Risk assessment, which can be conducted by oral health and other health professionals, is based on the premise that not all infants, children, and adolescents are equally likely to develop oral health problems. Thus, individuals at high risk for tooth decay likely need more, and more complex, preventive oral health care and treatment than those at lower risk. Oral health risk assessment involves identifying an individual’s risk or protective factors that may impact oral health. Use the risk assessment tables (Dental Caries, Periodontal Disease, Malocclusion, Injury) to assess the infant’s, child’s, or adolescent’s risk and protective factors for oral health issues.
Health professionals may refer to the Caries-Risk Assessment Tool (CAT) developed by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry to assist in classifying risk of tooth decay in infants, children,and adolescents based on environmental, physical, and overall health factors.