Health Screening Guidelines, Ages 2 to 18

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Screening tests are an important part of managing your child's health. A screening test is done to find possible disorders or diseases in people who don't have any symptoms. The goal is to find a disease early so lifestyle changes can be made. Your child can be watched more closely to reduce the risk of disease, or to find it early enough to treat it most effectively. Screening tests are not used to diagnose. Instead, they are used to decide if more testing is needed. Below are guidelines for these, for children and teens from ages 2 to 18.

Gender words are used here to talk about anatomy and health risk. Please use this information in a way that works best for you and your provider as you talk about your care.

Screening	Who needs it	How often
Chlamydia and gonorrhea infections	Sexually active females ages 24 years and younger	Once a year
High lead level	Children age 6 years old and younger	Questions to determine risk or blood tests may be done once a year
HIV	All people ages 15 to 65 years and younger or older people at increased risk. Talk with your child’s healthcare provider	At routine exams if 15 or older or younger if at risk
Obesity	Assessment of obesity risk for all patients	At routine exams
Tooth decay and other dental problems	All children in this age group	Dental exams every 6 months; Fluoride supplements from age 6 months to 16 years for those with low fluoride levels in their water; fluoride varnish should be applied every 3 to 6 months; fluoride rinses may be used in children age 6 years or older, if they are able to rinse and spit
Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes	Children ages 10 or older who are overweight or obese and have 1 or more other risk factors for diabetes	At least every 3 years or more often if BMI is increasing
Blood pressure	All children 3 years of age and older	Annual well-child visit
Vision and hearing problems	All children in this age group	Screening once between ages 3 and 5 years, after that every 3 years
Anemia	Children approximately 12 months and older	Once at approximately 12 months old, then repeated as needed based on risk assessment

Screening

Who needs it

How often

Chlamydia and gonorrhea infections

Sexually active females ages 24 years and younger

Once a year

High lead level

Children age 6 years old and younger

Questions to determine risk or blood tests may be done once a year

HIV

All people ages 15 to 65 years and younger or older people at increased risk. Talk with your child’s healthcare provider

At routine exams if 15 or older or younger if at risk

Obesity

Assessment of obesity risk for all patients

At routine exams

Tooth decay and other dental problems

All children in this age group

Dental exams every 6 months; Fluoride supplements from age 6 months to 16 years for those with low fluoride levels in their water; fluoride varnish should be applied every 3 to 6 months; fluoride rinses may be used in children age 6 years or older, if they are able to rinse and spit

Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes

Children ages 10 or older who are overweight or obese and have 1 or more other risk factors for diabetes

At least every 3 years or more often if BMI is increasing

Blood pressure

All children 3 years of age and older

Annual well-child visit

Vision and hearing problems

All children in this age group

Screening once between ages 3 and 5 years, after that every 3 years

Anemia

Children approximately 12 months and older

Once at approximately 12 months old, then repeated as needed based on risk assessment

Counseling	Who needs it	How often
Depression	Children between ages 12 and 18 years	At routine exams
Anxiety	Children between ages 8 and 18	At routine exams
Prevention of skin cancer	Fair-skinned children starting at age 6 months	At routine exams
Prevention of sexually transmitted infections	Children in this age group who are sexually active	At routine exams
More physical activity	Children with obesity, diabetes, or prediabetes	At routine exams
Prevention of starting tobacco use	School-age children	At routine exams

Counseling

Who needs it

How often

Depression

Children between ages 12 and 18 years

At routine exams

Anxiety

Children between ages 8 and 18

At routine exams

Prevention of skin cancer

Fair-skinned children starting at age 6 months

At routine exams