Kids’ Doctors Urged To Guard Teeth, Too

Pediatricians have a role to play in guarding the dental health of children, a new policy says. The policy comes from the American Academy of Pediatrics. This is the nation’s largest group of children’s doctors. Children should have their first dental visit by age 1, the policy says. But pediatricians also should assess children’s risk of cavities. Some children don’t have a dentist. In this case, the pediatrician can apply fluoride varnish to the teeth of a child with a high cavity risk. The policy was published December 1 in the journal Pediatrics.