PHILADELPHIA Parents now have a new on-line resource for getting the answers they need to help promote their child oral health. "A Parent Guide to Tooth Eruption" is an interactive tool developed by the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine for InteliHealth Dental, a comprehensive oral-health information site accessible at www.dental.intelihealth.com. Penn dental faculty review and approve all content on this site.

With this guide, parents can learn about their children developing teeth from infancy to the teens. It features eight age categories/stages of tooth development: 6, 7-12 and 13-24 months and 3-5, 6-7, 8-10, 11-12 and 13-15 years. For each age range, the guide includes tips for a healthier mouth that emphasize at-home preventive measures, illustrations of normal tooth development at that stage and a printable list of oral-health questions to ask the dentist or pediatrician. There is also a problems section with information and four-color illustrations of various dental developmental and pediatric conditions.

"Parents should start thinking about their child oral health long before the first dental visit," said Wendy McGeehan, who directs the InteliHealth Dental project for the Penn School of Dental Medicine. "We feel the information on those early stages and the questions to ask your pediatrician are especially unique to the guide."

Visitors to the site can access this tool from the InteliHealth Dental homepage by clicking on "Interactive Guide" under "Cool Tools." It is also accessible through "My Kid Teeth" under the "I want to learn more about . . ." area or through the "Kids & Teens" section within "Oral Health Areas."

This interactive guide joins the site popular "Ask the Dentist" section, where the questions go beyond cavities and fillings. Penn dental experts address such issues as orthodontics and associated hygiene tips, early intervention, getting children to comply, children nutrition, the safety of X rays and whether sugarless products are good for children. This section also includes questions on other areas of dentistry, including oral medicine and lesions, saliva volume, mouth odor, sedation and kids with special needs, such as cleft palates.

Topics such as the impact of pacifiers and bottles on a baby teeth and tooth-friendly foods can also be found in the "Kids & Teens" section. Plus, the site "Live Forum" area posts transcripts of on-line chats with Penn dental experts as additional information resources.

InteliHealth Dental, which integrates comprehensive dental information with general medical information, was launched last year through a partnership between Penn dental school and InteliHealth.