Working with kids as a traveling dental hygienist had such a profound effect on Dr. Gia Grannum that she decided to make pediatric dentistry her specialty.

“My introduction into dentistry was as a registered dental hygienist. I also received a bachelor’s of dental hygiene education,” she said. “After I completed that training, I felt like there was more that I needed to learn, and I returned to school part-time for a master’s in public health while working full-time as a hygienist.”

When she earned her master’s degree, Grannum moved back to Atlanta and started a job as part of a traveling dental team.

“I was the pediatric dental hygienist while also taking classes for dental school,” she said. “And during that job where I traveled to different offices as the registered dental hygienist, I developed a love for working with kids.”

As she prepared for dental school, she knew that she would also specialize in pediatric dentistry.

“I met several female pediatric dentists who looked like me and inspired me to continue with my pursuit of pediatric dentistry,” she said. “I began to like it when kids would be afraid and then they would realize that they didn’t have to be. I realized that I had a way with them,” she explained.

 “I was able to calm them or convince them to do things that they might have been afraid of. And because I was working with other pediatric dentists, I just decided to pursue that track,” Grannum added.

Grannum made her dream a reality by opening Agape Pediatric Dentistry, located at the Forum, earlier this year.

The importance of early dental care

Oral health in infancy and early childhood lays the foundation for good oral health in the later stages of life, according to a report from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research titled “Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges.”

The document delves into how the beliefs and behaviors of parents and caregivers, as well as societal, cultural and commercial factors, influence children’s health outcomes.

Risk assessment, early intervention, access to dental services, communication and education, as well as collaboration among health care providers, are important factors to improve oral health for all children it states.

Grannum agreed with those assessments.

“I always knew that people are probably afraid of the dentist from something that happened when they were a child.  I wanted to try to change that. I wanted to show kids that they didn’t have to be afraid and maybe if things were done differently when they were kids, there would be fewer adults afraid of the dentist,” she said.

The relationship that children have with their oral health starts before they even have teeth.

“I think it’s important for kids to play around with the toothbrush and get used to having it in their mouth. But I also think it’s important that parents brush their kids’ teeth for them. They don’t know how to do it. It’s recommended that kids don’t brush alone until they can tie their shoes,” she said.

“They still need help because when kids are brushing, they’re not going to brush as thoroughly as they should because they may not know the correct sequence of brushing or where to hold a toothbrush. But if parents are doing it for them, they’re teaching them how it’s done and over time with practice it gets better,” Grannum described.

Changes in pediatric oral health needs

Dr. Grannum is in her 14th year as a pediatric dentist. She’s seen how children’s oral health needs have changed over the years.

“I’ve been in the dental field for 26 years. Kids are getting their teeth faster than they used to. Kids are losing their teeth faster than they used to. The shape of a lot of the kids’ jaws and faces are changing. So that means that there’s more [tooth] crowding than there used to be. Kids also don’t have the same diet that they used to have,” she noted.

“In general, their jaws are much wider than they are now. And that’s from changes in diet,” she said. “That’s from a lot of the kids sucking on pouches. They don’t chew like they used to chew on harder food.”

Several federal government-led medical studies show that using pouches too frequently for feeding children can negatively impact a child’s oral development. Sucking directly from a pouch keeps food in contact with teeth longer, which can increase the risk of tooth decay and erosion. Pouches can also be high in sugar, which can cause cavities. Also, sucking on a pouch doesn’t require much work, so it doesn’t help children develop oral motor skills like chewing and swallowing. These skills are important for speech development.

Grannum said she is seeing more parents shying away from dairy too.

“Kids have more allergies these days than they used to have. So, parents are staying away from dairy. More parents are vegan, or vegetarian and they want their kids to have more almond milk,” she said. “But all milk, regardless of which milk it is, has sugar in it. There’s definitely been a change in nutrition.”

Additionally, children eat out more now than in the past. Parents use pacifiers longer, which is also going to change the shape and the development of their face as they grow, making their jaws and their faces even more narrow and causing their teeth to be constricted, Grannum added.

“Kids aren’t getting their teeth at the same time that they used to because they don’t chew,” she said. “That chewing stimulates the periodontal ligament (the tissues in our mouth that support the teeth). It stimulates those fibers to cause tooth eruption. Now, I’m seeing a lot more kids that aren’t getting their first tooth until 12 or 13 months. Whereas in the past, it used to be that the kids would start getting their teeth around six months.”

Kids are also losing teeth earlier.

“I’ve noticed over the last several years that kids are losing their teeth much earlier than they used to. And I don’t know if that’s because of hormones in the food that we’re eating,” she said. “I see kids come in at three and a half or four or four and a half and they have a loose tooth. That was unheard of back when I started.”

Finding the right place for her practice

To support Grannum’s philosophy of helping patients achieve overall wellness, she lucked out in finding an office in a building with a pediatrician’s office, a general dentistry office and an eye doctor that specializes in treating children.

When Grannum first started looking for a space, her real estate agent happened to mention the location she’s at now. When they came to tour, Grannum stopped in to see what the general dentist’s office was like.

“I went to the front desk and asked to speak to the dentist,” she said. “He came out and when I said I was opening a pediatric dental office, he told me, ‘This is where you want to be.’”

With so many other medical services geared toward children in the same building, there is an opportunity for collaboration and taking a more holistic approach to caring for patients.

“I want to know the patients and I want to educate the families,” she said. “I can observe something affecting oral health that may have indications for the overall health. I want to let [parents] know that so that they can start asking the right questions when they go in for their pediatrician visit.”

Grannum has a lot of goals for her practice and believes that Peachtree Corners is the right place to make them happen.

“When I say holistic, I’m looking at all the needs of the patient when it comes to health. How are they sleeping? What is their diet and nutrition like? How is the mouth shaped? How is the pallet shaped? Are there any restrictions with tongue?” she said. “What can we do here to help them as they grow and get older?”

Right now, Grannum is a one-woman show. She does the cleanings and everything else but is looking to add staff such as hygienists, an orthodontist and perhaps another dentist.

“We pride ourselves in treating each patient individually based on what their needs are. Some patients need more time,” she said. “Because I am a newer office, we do have that time. We are patient with the kids. We also are set up where if a patient needs a private room as opposed to the open bay, it’s available. We use an open bay in pediatric dentistry as some kids do well with modeling the behavior of other kids.”

She added that she always wants to have options for patients.

“We have an open-door policy here. We pride ourselves on trying to be individualized and comprehensive and holistic in the sense of what the individual needs are, not just what their dental needs are,” she explained.

Learn more about Agape Pediatric Dentistry at agapepediatricdentistry.com.