Abstract
It may come as a surprise to the public and to medical practitioners that the most common infectious disease in young children is dental decay and that oral health is the most prevalent unmet healthcare need of children. Children who present with early childhood caries (ECC) can suffer from pain, sleeplessness, malnutrition, difficulty playing, struggles in school, and toxic stress. Although it is almost completely preventable through low-cost preventive measures, prevalence is very high in Canada affecting over one quarter of children. Several factors interact on different levels (child, family and community) to create a situation in which ECC prevails. Recommendations for prevention are presented and include early visits to a dentist, dental care as part of prenatal care, interdisciplinary collaboration across health and social services, as well as many others.
Highlights
It may come as a surprise to the public and to medical practitioners that the most common infectious disease in young children is dental decay [1] and that oral health is the most prevalent unmet healthcare need of children [2]
Policy-makers need to take the stand that early childhood caries (ECC) prevention is as important as cancer prevention and alcoholism prevention
Dental care could be included in the fee schedule for well-baby doctor visits until age 12 months
Summary
It may come as a surprise to the public and to medical practitioners that the most common infectious disease in young children is dental decay [1] and that oral health is the most prevalent unmet healthcare need of children [2]. Toxic stress is known to cause permanent architectural changes in the brain that lead to higher incidences of addictive behaviors, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, anxiety disorders, suicide, and incarceration [13,14,15,16] This tells us that early oral health care is about more than just baby teeth, and it is most definitely a health issue and not just a dental issue. There is a gap between the important role that healthy baby teeth play in oral and overall development and the care these small teeth receive at home and in the community Unique to this particular infectious disease, is that it can be almost completely eliminated through prevention. What follows are suggestions to preventing ECC on all three levels
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
