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June 2009 | dentalproductsreport.com
web exclusive

Products that failed

The most recalled products tend to be the ones that pose risk to infants and children.

by Thais Carter, Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Image Source/Getty Images

Many dental professionals have experienced a product not quite living up to expectations—you didn’t get the margins you wanted, you had to remake an impression, or that new technology didn’t meet the hype. While disappointing, such concerns don’t necessarily merit product recalls or emergency room visits. Rather than second-guessing operatory products, dentists should be more concerned with teething rings.

While simple and, on the surface, only loosely related to dentistry, teething rings are often the first “homecare” product a young child touches. Too often, the product is purchased based on colorful characters instead of sound safety criteria. As recently as March of 2009, Infantino and the U.S. Product Safety Commission jointly announced the recall of several baby toys, rattles and teething rings due to a potential choking hazard. Nearly 200,000 of the toys were sold in the U.S. and Canada between June 2007 and February 2009. This came following a recall of the CBB Group Rattle Teether in February of 2009, another Infantino recall in January of 2009, and two silver teething ring recalls in January and December of 2007 for Elegant Baby and Baby Needs Inc. and Empire Silver Co., respectively.

With all the recent fervor over lead paint in toys, it is important to remember that choking episodes among children is also a concern and often, preventable. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2001 31% of nonfatal choking episodes treated in emergency departments were associated with nonfood objects.

What can the dentist do?
Of course the dentist isn’t a pit stop for an expectant mother on her way to Babies“R”Us, but as part of the oral health education protocol for new and expectant moms in your practice, consider speaking up about teething rings. “When considering teething products to enhance an infant’s introduction to oral care it is important to use a product that has no protrusions that they can poke themselves with or cause injury to the eyes or other parts of the body,” explained David T. Carroll, RDH, BSM, president of Preventive Dental Specialties (PDS). “ Even though some may appear safe when the child falls asleep they may roll onto the product. Another important aspect of teething rings, in my opinion, is that they contain no gels or liquids that could come out if the child/infant pokes a hole in them. When choosing products for plaque removal (toothbrushes) I would recommend a product that the infant can use themselves along with parent supervision. The product should also be designed as not to be able to go into the soft palate or throat.” PDS manufacturers numerous products for children at various ages and stages that meet such criteria.

In addition to covering standard advice—keep a watchful eye on kids, keep dangerous toys out of reach, learn how to provide early treatment for kids who are choking—your dental team should keep a list of pediatric dental products that are safe to use. Anxious new parents will welcome the input. If you treat children in your practice, lay the foundation for the Age 1 dental visit and explain how even at that age parents, kids and dental professionals can work together to establish good habits. “The best way to introduce oral care products to children is to pick a product that they can begin using at the earliest possible age—3 months. Children are in the oral stages of life at this time and a perfect time to use this stage of life to create habits that will last a lifetime.

Recalled products slideshow

There are products on the market that are designed for early intervention. Parents need to encourage brushing as soon as the teeth come in,” Carroll said. “Many parents take toothbrushes away from their children constantly due to the fear that the brush could become lodged in the throat, or cause other injury if the child were to fall. Then the parent wants the child to brush later in the evening, with the same toothbrush that has been taken away. Then it’s bedtime…Their are products designed for infants as early as 3 mos of age that the child and parent can use to stop this very preventable disease.”

If you don’t treat children, keep a list on-hand of pediatric dentists in the area you would recommend. The most important thing is to recognize the more active role you can play in helping keep parents educated and children safer.

Related Articles

• Caring for kids from A to Z
• Kids First: Creating comfort
• DPR Exclusive Survey: Pediatrics

Related Products

• For a list of all pediatric products in DPR’s product database, click here.