What is the Role of Pediatricians on Oral Health?

Good oral health and dentition is important for efficient mastication, speaking and cosmetically for smiling. If left untreated, dental pathologies can lead to pain and infection, reduced growth and development, speech disorders, and high treatment costs. Chronic infection around one or more teeth can result in damage to localized structures, such as the developing permanent teeth. Children who are medically compromised (such as being immunocompromised from a disease and/or therapy) are at increased risk of developing systemic complications from dental infections which can be fatal. Therefore, the author focuses on the role of the general pediatrician in promoting the importance of good oral health for all children and in particular those children receiving cancer therapy. Etiology, assessment, and prevention of dental caries and oral mucositis are presented, evidence based where available.