Tools

Dentists Practice on Babies in Great Falls, Warn of Early Detection

Dentists Practice on Babies in Great Falls, Warn of Early Detection

By KFBB News Team

Story Created: May 22, 2009 at 5:13 PM MST

Story Updated: May 22, 2009 at 5:26 PM MST

There was a lot of noise coming from the Best Western Heritage Inn Friday morning.

That commotion came from dozens of babies and toddlers, and they were all there for dental work. It's part of the Montana Dental Association's training session, a unique program that gives dentists and dental assistants real-life training and kids less than a year old.

Dental experts say that caring for a baby's teeth can be critical to a child's overall health. Every year, thousands of babies contract early childhood caries, also known as bottle rot.

Dentists say this is 100 percent preventable, through early detection and cleaning, which now is recommended before a baby turns one year old.

Jane Gillette, with the Montana Dental Association, says, "Which is much earlier than we used to think. We used to think about three or five, but by that time, the disease is very well established. And so what we're training people to do here today, is to see very young children, and teach them how to prevent cavities, so our children, Montana kids, can grow up happier and healthier."

The incentive for parents to bring their babies out on Friday was that all of the dental care was free.

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 1000 Characters Left

News, Sports, Weather for Great Falls, Helena, and all of Montana and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.

Great Falls & Helena Weather

Icon
Great Falls Great Falls Intl Airport, MT
Current Temp 32.0 °F
Fair
Wind : South at 11.5 MPH (10 KT)
Pressure : 1033.0 mb
Humidity : 61 %
Icon
Helena Helena Regional, MT
Current Temp 25.0 °F
Fair
Wind : Calm
Pressure : 1035.1 mb
Humidity : 78 %
Click here for our video forecast
More Weather
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

AP Video