The pandemic did more than keep families and their children in their homes and out of social circles. It also kept them out of dental offices. According to a poll done by C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital in conjunction with the University of Michigan, over 40% of parents did not seek preventative dental care for their children during the pandemic. Another 7% of parents reported they had tried to get dental care for their children during the pandemic, but were unable to do so. This means about half of the children in the United States did not get any preventative, pediatric dental care last year.
Is Missing A Year That Bad?
Some parents may think that the recommendation of having your children’s teeth cleaned every 6 months seems like a lot. The truth, however, is that even at a young age we can’t control everything our children eat. What we can control is their teeth cleaning consistency and encouraging them to learn good oral hygiene habits at an early age.
Preventative dental care is very important, especially for young children developing life-long habits. While one year without preventative dental care may not irreparably harm a child’s long-term dental health, it can make it harder for the child to learn and maintain good dental habits ultimately leading to serious dental issues in the future.
Is It Worth The Wait?
One in three parents surveyed across the country during the last year stated they had difficulty getting their children in to see their dentist. Fortunately, now that things are opening up, opportunities are now available for those children to see their dentists. In fact, at Medical Center Children’s Dentistry, we are usually able to schedule patients within the same week or shortly thereafter. We have used the time we were unable to see patients during the pandemic to streamline our processes and to make it easier for you to schedule appointments convenient for your family.
Is It Safe For Children To Be Out?
At MCCD we are taking every precaution we can to ensure the safety of our patients and their families. We use hospital-grade cleaning products and protocols that are employed after each patient’s visit before the next patient is seen. We have installed air purifiers in each room and extra air conditioning units to improve the air circulation. We also follow local, state, as well as federal mandates to ensure that our office is practicing within the guidelines set to ensure the health and safety of our patients. Our dentists, hygienists, and dental staff all wear medical-grade masks when working on patients. As this was the protocol pre-covid, it remains the protocol moving forward. We believe that it is important to protect and guarantee the safety of our patients.
We are always working to ensure the best possible experience for our patients. We believe the steps we are taking to help create a clean, safe, and healthy environment are a part of our promise to offer the best care anywhere for our patients. If you have any questions about scheduling or pandemic-related procedures, please feel free to reach out to us today.
