New app for dental healthcare of kids
Called ‘PedoDontics, it gives detailed info of a child’s dental, general health from birth till the age of 13 years
Modern life is all about tracking one's life on various mobile applications, from running, keeping fit, heart rate to now the latest app, tracking one's dental healthcare. A doctor affiliated to the government dental medical college has developed a new android mobile application called ‘PedoDontics’.
Working couples often say these mobile phone apps help them to monitor the lives of their children and this application too is such. It gives detailed information of a child’s dental and general health from birth till the age of 13 years. The application is free and simple to use, which does not require any permission or any verification details of the user, which it makes it more accessible.
“We have taken efforts to provide basic information required to understand development stages, vital physiological parameters and oral hygiene so that the parents don't have to get cowed down by getting them,” said Dr Dimple Padawe, professor and a paediatric dental surgeon at Government Dental College. The application will also help parents to take care of their children's dental health and provide specific information--time for formation of milk teeth, cause for cavities and how tooth decay can develop and also how mis-alignment of teeth takes place due to gaps left after the teeth fall. Apart from this, the app also informs parents of
their children's overall health--what is the optimal weight a child should have at a specific age, blood pressure of children and such.
Parents can get updated of their children's health at a click. Dr Padawe said on daily basis they get nearly 80 children suffering from different dental problems, of which, 45 per cent are first time cases. “Most commonly we get parents wanting to remove the decayed tooth of their children. They expect us to remove them if they have cavities. They do not realise, removal of even one tooth, results in mal-alignment of entire set of teeth. Through this app, parents will get basic knowledge of dental healthcare and spread awareness on dental hygiene,” she said.
She further said, the app will monitor apart from dental care, the heartbeat and blood pressure of children. “The app will also provide additional information of the proper way to brush teeth and precise medicine to be taken for dental problem, as per a child’s age,” Dr Padawe said. However the response to this app is still low. “We developed this app on Monday and till now 700 parents have downloaded it,” said a doctor.