With many school districts deciding to begin the fall semester entirely online, the Illinois State Dental Society is reminding parents they need to bring their children to the dentist.
Illinois schools require students entering kindergarten, second, sixth and ninth grades to get a dental checkup. Yet some students aren’t getting the checkups, with nearly 1 in 3 students failing to receive required school dental exams.
Eric Larson, executive director of ISDS, said students will underperform if they have dental issues.
“There are a lot of studies out there that do show that children with poor oral health are more likely to experience oral pain or miss school or overall perform more poorly than their counterparts with better oral health,” Larson said.
Larson said Illinois dentists he has talked to have reported positive responses from patients after realizing dental offices have stricter infection controls than some hospitals.
“Dentists have always had the gold standard in place with infection control, and we are seeing even hospitals now start implementing many of these standards that dentists have always practiced,” Larson said.
As a result of the pandemic, look for a few changes when you visit the dentist. Gone are the magazines in the waiting room and play areas for children. Screening questions, temperature checks and social distancing are now required.
