CHILDHOOD CARIES---STILL A MENACE

The American Dental  Association defines childhood caries as “the presence of one or more decayed, missing, or filled tooth surfaces in any primary tooth in a pre-school age child between birth and 71 months of age.”  Further, the ADA states that early childhood caries is found throughout the general population and is an even-more significant problem in high-risk populations including minorities and the less affluent.  Although early childhood caries declined from the early 1970s to the mid-1990s, it has increased since then.  The latest studies show that almost 44% of five year olds have or have had cavities, and 23% of young children have untreated caries.

There are some programs working to fight this epidemic.  A successful example of such programs is the DentaQuest Institute, active since 2008, which developed the Early Childhood Caries Collaborative in conjunction with Boston Children’s Hospital and St. Joseph Hospital for Specialty Care in Providence, R.I.  Their efforts have reduced new cavity development by 69%, pain by 50%, and utilization of operating rooms for dental treatment by 55%.  The program has evolved to include five additional health centers across the country plus 40 other sites including private practices.  For additional information about ECC (Early Childhood Caries), go to www.dentaquestinstitute.org or simply Bing or Google “percent of young children with dental caries” to read some interesting studies and articles about ECC.