Nutrition in the practice of pediatric dentistry

Nutrition is an important aspect of the total environment of a growing child. The dentist should evaluate the nutrition of pediatric patients from the physical parameters of the child including growth, general appearance, posture, muscle control, oral findings, and dietary history. Some common malnutrition problems of the pediatric age group include deficiencies of iron, calcium, vitamins A, C, and D, protein and/or calories, and excess ingestion of calories. The causes of and means of preventing nursing-bottle syndrome are easily preventable in this form of dental caries which has many dental, systemic, and economic consequences. The use of group dynamics as an effective and enjoyable method of teaching preventive dentistry is discussed.