title: Dental health for the pediatrician.
abstract: Pediatricians play an important role in promoting oral health care, and their advice regarding dental procedures or therapies may be solicited. This review is intended to provide answers for the more common questions that parents may have regarding the oral health of their children. The controversies surrounding early orthodontic therapy and mercury-containing amalgam fillings continue to be areas of contention. Why does the orthodontist want to initiate orthodontic treatment in a 7-year-old child? Is there justification for the banning of amalgam fillings, as has occurred in some countries? Also explored are the current therapies for two of the more common oral mucosal disorders: aphthous ulcers and recurrent herpes simplex labialis. These subjects have relevance not only for pediatric patients but also for adults (and for many providers) as well.
authors.affiliation: Department of Growth and Development, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and Department of Dentistry, Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. andrew.sonis@tch.harvard.edu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sonis
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zaragoza
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003723:Dental Amalgam; D006560:Herpes Labialis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000628:therapy; D009909:Oral Health; D009967:Orthodontic Appliances; D012008:Recurrence; D013281:Stomatitis, Aphthous / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D003723:Dental Amalgam