CME (Continuing Medical Education) program for pediatric oral health

Title: The Essential Role of Pediatric Health Professionals in Oral Health.

Background: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) now recognize that pediatricians and other appropriate health professionals have an essential role in pediatric oral health. Given their frequent access to infants and young children, pediatric health professionals have a unique opportunity to provide simple and brief counseling and interventions that can significantly impact the health of children and families. As tooth decay is the most common pediatric health problem, this intervention has significance to child growth and development, general health, school attendance and performance and future health care costs. Certain children by the very nature of their development, medical conditions and intervention are at a significant risk for poor oral health.

The goal of the presentation is to provide pediatric health professionals the means to provide risk assessment, counsel caregivers to oral health activity for their children and observe over time that appropriate action is provided. As the risk concerns for pediatric tooth decay are predictable and can be easily identified, timely risk assessment and counseling is critical to health promotion.

Upon completion of the program, attendees should be able to:

1. Know the risk factors for common pediatric tooth decay.
2. Know that children with chronic illness and developmental delay have increase risk for oral infections.
3. Conduct an oral health risk assessment.
4. Provide effective oral health counseling to caregivers.

This program is appropriate for any health professionals who encounter caregivers (e.g. social workers, EIP professionals, case managers etc). The program includes a pre and post assessment for attendees. We would also like to provide a follow up assessments (i.e. 6 months later) to determine activity of health professionals.

All behavioral data can be provided on request to the program sponsor.