Examination of Infants and Toddlers

An increased awareness of the detrimental effects of early childhood caries has prompted the involvement of different types of health professionals to address the access to care issue. The first part of the appointment is obtaining information from the parent. This should be conducted prior to the actual examination. Information gathering should include questions in regard to medical history, social history, prenatal, natal and neonatal history, cognitive and development history, and dental history. The intraoral examination should begin with the palpation of all soft tissues. Factors to consider before extraction are (i) extent of mobility and possibility of aspiration, (ii) severe maternal pain when breast-feeding, and (iii) evidence of ulcerations (Riga-Fede) on the infants tongue. Infants are usually not sufficiently cooperative to analyze or classify the occlusion. This chapter has provided the objectives and procedure for the knee-to-knee examination. The rationale for the infant oral examination is preventing oral disease.