Quinonez – Infant Oral Health, Prevention and Motivational Interviewing and Silver Diamine Fluoride-Quinonez Infant Oral Health Prevention and Motivational Interviewing and Silver Diamine Fluoride

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The transcript features three pediatric dentistry presentations focused on improving children’s oral health through collaboration, behavior change strategies, and new caries-management tools.<br /><br />Dr. Rocio Quiñonez (UNC) argues that early intervention and coordinated, multidisciplinary care are essential to reduce early childhood caries (ECC) and its severe consequences. Using North Carolina as a case study, she describes the “Into the Mouths of Babes” program, where medical providers deliver oral health risk assessment, counseling, and fluoride varnish in the medical home. Data suggest that children receiving four or more such visits before age three had reduced caries-related treatment later, though referral to a dental home remains a major gap. She highlights the move from fee-for-service to value-based care, the growing role of physicians in preventive oral health, and practical tools like the Baby Oral Health Program (BOP) and Prenatal Oral Health Program (POP) websites to train teams, standardize counseling, generate family “report cards,” and strengthen communication between dental and medical providers.<br /><br />Dr. Maria Cordero-Ricardo presents motivational interviewing as a practical approach to improve adherence and reduce provider frustration. She emphasizes empathy, reflective listening, limiting recommendations to a few achievable changes, and using “OARS” (Open questions, Affirmations, Reflections, Summaries) to support self-efficacy and guide families toward sustainable habits.<br /><br />Dr. Elise Watson-Sarvis reviews silver diamine fluoride (SDF) as a medical-management tool for caries arrest, explaining mechanisms, evidence (about ~80% arrest), application protocols, coding, benefits for high-need patients, and cautions—especially black staining, consent, case selection, and psychosocial considerations.

Keywords

pediatric dentistry

children’s oral health

early childhood caries (ECC)

multidisciplinary care coordination

Into the Mouths of Babes program

medical home oral health

fluoride varnish application

oral health risk assessment

dental home referral gap

value-based care

Baby Oral Health Program (BOP)

Prenatal Oral Health Program (POP)

motivational interviewing (MI)

OARS communication technique

silver diamine fluoride (SDF) caries arrest