LIBERTY Dental Plan health tip:  
Creating a Dental Home  
for Kids  
KidCare  
LIBERTY  
DENTAL PLAN  
®
LIBERTY cares about more than just teeth!  
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Moms with active gum disease should avoid cross  
A “Dental Home”  
produces and maintains  
healthy smiles  
contaminating their saliva with the child’s mouth.  
Dental caries is an infectious disease. You are  
accidentally spreading the bacteria to your child  
by tasting their food, using the same utensils and sharing  
saliva with your baby via kissing or other oral contact.  
If the “bad” bacteria that may be in mom’s mouth (or  
other family members) get a “hold” in the child’s mouth  
early, this can lead to baby bottle tooth decay (or “early  
childhood caries”).  
Create a “Dental Home” for your family  
to ensure life-long oral health with these  
easy lifetime steps:  
Preventative oral health starts at home. LIBERTY Dental  
Plan (LIBERTY) recognizes this and has created a  
Disease Management Program that is the only one  
of its kind. This in-home program educates families  
on the benefits of adopting a proactive attitude  
towards managing disease through good oral health  
practices. Families are encouraged to build a “Dental  
Home” – an environment that encourages members  
of the family to have regular dental checkups and habitual  
oral hygiene practices right in their own home.  
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Mom: if you have dental problems such as lots  
of swollen or bleeding gums, missing teeth, large  
numbers of fillings, or wear a denture, it is best to use  
a clean utensil in your baby’s mouth, and to avoid  
getting your saliva in the child’s mouth.  
Stage 2 Newborns  
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After the child is born, get the child used to water  
Stage 1 Pregnancy  
in their bottle at bedtime. No fruit juices or milk products  
during sleep. Baby bottle tooth decay is a devastating  
and expensive disease to treat and leaves your child with  
lots of pain and infection affecting them for a lifetime of  
dental problems.  
4Good pre-natal health of the pregnant mom.  
Have mom’s teeth checked in advance of, and during  
pregnancy – especially the gum health. Have routine  
cleanings up through and after the birth of the child. Take  
care of any chronic gum infection as early as possible in  
the pregnancy to avoid circulating inflammatory agents  
in the blood affecting the development of the child. This  
will reduce the bacterial load in mom’s mouth making it  
harder to transmit to baby after birth.  
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Visit the dentist at the time of emergence of the first  
tooth, or by the first birthday. This appointment will be  
to observe the baby’s mouth and to review with the  
caregiver/family the best way to proceed with your  
baby’s oral health.  
™
Making members shine, one smile at a time www.libertydentalplan.com  
©
2018 LIBERTY Dental Plan Dental-Home-Eng RN 09 2018  
recommended and at what age would be the best  
time to start orthodontic treatment. In some cases,  
coverage for this care is only paid after all permanent  
teeth are erupted(approximately age 11 or older).  
Other plans may allow for earlier orthodontic  
intervention as a covered service.  
Stage 3 Toddlers  
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When there are more and more baby teeth,  
take advantage of paint-on fluoride varnish  
as performed by the dentist, dental hygienist,  
registered dental assistant, pediatrician, or  
pediatrician’s medical assistant. Application several  
times per year of fluoride varnish will prevent cavities  
and avoid painful teeth abscesses and early loss of the  
baby teeth.  
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If one child had early childhood caries (baby  
bottle tooth decay), you can still prevent this in your  
next child by taking the steps outlined here. Do not  
assume that just because it happened once that it is  
“destiny” for all your children to have this problem.  
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If you do not live in an area of fluoridated  
4Dental disease is preventable and has simple  
causes and risk factors that can be avoided and  
reduced.  
water, consider fluoride supplements (like vitamin  
supplements) to ensure that the teeth are strong  
and decay resistant.  
LIBERTY is committed to your family’s oral health.  
LIBERTY seeks to partner with you to create a life of  
oral wellness for parent and child by providing good-  
sense dental plans that empower good oral health  
decision-making.  
Stage 4 Childhood  
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At age 6, have the permanent first molar teeth  
sealed after they erupt in the mouth.  
Continue with twice annual visits, including  
cleaning and fluoride varnish.  
At age 12, have the permanent second molar  
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teeth sealed after they erupt in the mouth.  
Stage 5 Youth  
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Children participating in school sports should have  
an athletic mouth guard made to avoid broken teeth  
during competition, or during bicycle riding. Just like  
wearing a helmet and head protection, protecting  
the teeth will ensure a life of good smiles.  
4
When crowding of the permanent teeth is detected,  
consider visiting an orthodontist to determine if braces are  
™
Making members shine, one smile at a time www.libertydentalplan.com  
©
2018 LIBERTY Dental Plan Dental-Home-Eng RN 09 2018