Baltimore County, MD Hello Baltimore County, 2 Feb 2017

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From YouTube: Children’s Dental Health

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Find out how the County’s Health Department could help you keep your child’s smile healthy and bright.

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Welcome to hello, baltimore county., I'm your host, ellen kobler.

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Good dental health is important for overall health,.

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And it needs to start in early childhood.

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we're pleased to welcome to the hello baltimore county studios, baltimore county public health, dentist, dr. joy, lucas,.

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Who has plenty of great information for us.?

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Thank you so much for joining us.. Thank you for having me. now, baltimore county's dental services program has been around for more than 30 years..

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Can you tell us a little bit about what the program does and who you serve?.

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Yes. we have two clinics.

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One at eastern family resource center in rosedale, maryland.

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And also the liberty family resource center in randallstown, maryland.

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We provide dental services to children, zero to 21,.

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Pregnant women, and seniors 60 and over who do not have any dental insurance and who qualify based on income.

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Okay. very interesting.

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So, you're, basically their regular dentist?.

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Yes, and they pay on a sliding fee scale based on their income.

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We also accept maryland healthy smiles, medicaid program.

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For children and pregnant women also.

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Okay, and I'm curious, you're mentioning pregnant women.

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is there is a particular concern about dental health. If you're pregnant?.

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Yes., it's very important for pregnant women to have a dental cleaning.

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While their pregnant. really? yes., our hormones when we're pregnant, can cause our gums to overgrow,.

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Becoming swollen, puffy, and bleeding,, which is actually called pregnancy gingivitis..

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So it's very important for pregnant women to get in to see their dentist.

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And have at least a dental cleaning, while they're pregnant.

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All right, now february is national children's dental health, month.

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Can you tell us a little bit about programs in particular for children?.

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Yes. we have a dental, sealant, school-based, dental sealant, program,.

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That we do where we go out into baltimore county schools.

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And provide oral health education to pre-k through third grade students.

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And we also provide dental sealants on second and third graders.

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On their permanent first molars,, if they have erupted.

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And this is very, very important because our first permanent molars.

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Are susceptible to caries and when we place dental--.

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Caries means cavities? yes., okay, good.. It's a cavity.

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It's basically plaque. That's bacteria that gets into the grooves of our teeth,.

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Pits and fissures, and when we eat sugary foods or things that have sugar,, it creates an acid that literally eats away at our teeth, and that's how a cavity forms.

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So your once hard enamel now becomes soft and mushy.

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And full of bacteria and infection.

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so with the dental sealants,, we actually-- it's a plastic coating that actually goes over the grooves.

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And seals out the pits and fissures so that there's a smooth surface.

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That's easier for children to keep clean and to keep bacteria out of that area.

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Okay,- and this is available to all school children in baltimore, county public, schools., yes,, second-- well,. Actually we go out to the title. One,.

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Forty-Two title one schools in baltimore, county.

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okay,, so some of the lower-income areas.

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Yes, and second and third grade students are eligible.

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And we do a dental screening,, which means we get the opportunity.

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To look in the kids' mouths and to see if there's anything major going on as well.

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And then we can refer them to their private dentist or they can actually come to see us at the baltimore county. Dental clinic.

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Okay, and how early should parents start brushing children s teeth.

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And teaching them about good oral hygiene.

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Good oral hygiene starts at birth. at birth?.

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Parents can certainly,, after feeding and at bedtime,, wipe their baby's gums with a wet cloth,.

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Just to keep them clean and healthy.

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interesting. okay. also, as soon as your child's teeth start to erupt.

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Is a good time to into be seen by dentist, just to have a look.

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Interesting. all right.

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And basically, it's becoming increasingly well-known.

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That dental health relates to your overall health..

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Can you tell us a little bit about that? yes, absolutely.

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Our oral health, meaning oral in the mouth, health meaning being able to function,, which means biting, chewing,,.

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Speaking, swallowing,, all that is a part of your oral health.

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And you want to be able to do these things free of disease.

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And free of pain,, okay.

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and also, many systemic conditions,, meaning other medical conditions in other parts of our bodies.

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Can often be seen in the mouth,, they have manifestations in the mouth early..

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So sometimes we are the first providers to detect different conditions that someone may have.

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Interesting. all right.

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So good dental health is important for everybody -- from birth to the end of life.

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Absolutely. all right.

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And it's very--: you can never start too early to practice, good oral hygiene habits, and that's brushing and flossing and using a rinse.

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All right., so I say: f.b.I. --, floss,, brush,, irrigate.,.

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And actually go in and watch your kids brush their teeth, okay.

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You want to brush for at least two minutes, and you want to use a fluoride toothpaste, okay,, because the fluoride helps reduce decay.

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By strengthening the enamel of the teeth. well,, thank you very much..

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And thank you for watching hello, baltimore county..

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We encourage you to connect with baltimore county government on facebook and twitter.. We'll see you next time.

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