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.
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