scholarly journals Viewpoint: Early childhood caries: a New Zealand perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Bach ◽  
David Manton
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Dental Caries ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Early Childhood Caries ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Common Chronic Disease ◽  
Primary Health Care Providers ◽  
Childhood Caries

Dental caries, primarily a preventable disease, remains the most common chronic disease of childhood and one of the most common reasons for hospital admissions for children in New Zealand. The most vulnerable children are shouldering the burden of the disease, with Maori and Pacific children having greater experience and severity of dental caries. Early childhood caries has deleterious effects on a child’s oral and general health and significant numbers of preschool-aged children experience pain and infection. Early identification by primary health care providers of children at high risk of developing early childhood caries can ensure these children are referred to the appropriate oral health services to receive appropriate and timely management. KEYWORDS: Dental care for children; dental caries; New Zealand; preschool child

scholarly journals Early Childhood Caries - Essential Information for Primary Healthcare Providers

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saniya Mariam ◽  
Nishath Ahmed Liyakat ◽  
Vidya Kanamkote Narayanan ◽  
Sridhar Kalyanasundaram ◽  
Kandamaran Krishnamurthy
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Early Childhood Caries ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Primary Health Care Providers ◽  
Childhood Caries

Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is one of the most common chronic infectious diseases of childhood. It represents a significant disease burden with long-term consequences for a child's health and well-being. Primary health care providers (pediatricians, family physicians, pediatric nurses) are the first point of contact for parents for any child health-related issues as they see them repeatedly in the first few years of life for vaccinations and "well-baby" visits. However, their awareness regarding caries in primary dentition and its complications may be limited. This article has summarized important information on ECC, focusing on the health care provider's role in its early diagnosis and prevention.

scholarly journals Disease Management of Early Childhood Caries: ECC Collaborative Project

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Man Wai Ng ◽  
Francisco Ramos-Gomez ◽  
Martin Lieberman ◽  
Jessica Y. Lee ◽  
Richard Scoville ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Disease Management ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Early Childhood Caries ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Restorative Treatment ◽  
Wide Scale ◽  
Childhood Caries

Until recently, the standard of care for early childhood caries (ECC) has been primarily surgical and restorative treatment with little emphasis on preventing and managing the disease itself. It is now recognized that surgical treatment alone does not address the underlying etiology of the disease. Despite costly surgeries and reparative treatment, the onset and progression of caries are likely to continue. A successful rebalance of risk and protective factors may prevent, slow down, or even arrest dental caries and its progression. An 18-month risk-based chronic disease management (DM) approach to address ECC in preschool children was implemented as a quality improvement (QI) collaborative by seven teams of oral health care providers across the United States. In the aggregate, fewer DM children experienced new cavitation, pain, and referrals to the operating room (OR) for restorative treatment compared to baseline historical controls. The teams found that QI methods facilitated adoption of the DM approach and resulted in improved care to patients and better outcomes overall. Despite these successes, the wide scale adoption and spread of the DM approach may be limited unless health policy and payment reforms are enacted to compensate providers for implementing DM protocols in their practice.

Dental Caries Severity and Nutritional Status of Nigerian Preschool Children

2021 ◽  
pp. 238008442110021
Author(s):  
O.O. Olatosi ◽  
A.A. Alade ◽  
T. Naicker ◽  
T. Busch ◽  
A. Oyapero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Dental Caries ◽  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Early Childhood Caries ◽  
Z Score ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Risk Of Death ◽  
Malnourished Children ◽  
Z Scores ◽  
Childhood Caries

Introduction: Malnutrition in children is one of the most prevalent global health challenges, and malnourished children have a higher risk of death from childhood diseases. Early childhood caries (ECC) is the most common chronic disease of childhood. Complications from ECC such as pain, loss of tooth/teeth, and infection can undermine a child’s nutrition and growth. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the severity of decay, missing, and filled tooth (dmft) by nutritional status using the z scores of the anthropometric measurements: height for age (HFA), weight for age (WFA), weight for height (WFH), and body mass index for age (BMIA) among children with ECC in Nigeria. Study Design: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in 5 local government areas (LGAs) in Lagos State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used. Results: A total of 273 cases of ECC were included in the analyses (mean age 4.19 ± 0.96 y). Overall, the mean dmft was 3.04 ± 2.28, and most (96%) were accounted for by untreated decay. The distribution of dmft within the different z score categories of BMIA (<–3 = severely wasted, –2 to –3 = wasted, –2 to +2 = normal, +2 to +3 = overweight and >+3 = obese) showed the highest dmft scores among the combined severely wasted and wasted groups, lowest among children with normal z scores, and intermediate in the overweight and obese groups. There was a significant negative correlation between BMIA z score, WFH z score, and dmft ( r = −0.181, P < 0.05 and r = −0.143, P < 0.05, respectively). However, the correlations between HFA z score, WFA z score, and dmft were positive but not significant ( r = 0.048, P = 0.44 and r = 0.022, P = 0.77, respectively). Conclusion: Our study showed an increased severity of dental caries among severely wasted or wasted children with ECC compared to those of normal or overweight. Knowledge Transfer Statement: The results from this study will raise awareness among clinicians and policy makers on the need for a primary prevention program for early childhood caries in countries with high burden of malnutrition and limited resources. Also, it will help draw the attention of clinicians to the caries status of malnourished children that can be managed to improve the nutritional outcomes.

Streptococcus Mutans Strains in Mother-Child Pairs of Children with Early Childhood Caries

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 252-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priya Subramaniam ◽  
Revathy Suresh
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Dental Caries ◽  
Streptococcus Mutans ◽  
Early Childhood Caries ◽  
Mutans Streptococci ◽  
Similar Distribution ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Only Children ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Childhood Caries

Objective: Dental caries is both an infectious and transmissible disease. Maternal transfer of Mutans Streptococci occurs at an early age and is important in the initiation of dental caries in children. The aim of this study was to identify certain strains of Streptococcus mutans in mother-child pairs, of children with early childhood caries. Study design: Sixty mother-child pairs of healthy children aged 18–36 months were selected. Mothers with high levels of Streptococcus mutans in their saliva and only children with ECC were included. Dental plaque samples were collected from mother-child pairs. The plaque samples were stored, transferred to the laboratory and analyzed for Streptococcus mutans strains c, f, e and k, present in mother-child pairs using Real time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique. Data obtained was subjected to statistical analysis for level of similarity in Streptococcus mutans strains present in mother-child pairs. Results: A similar distribution of Streptococcus mutans strains c, f and k was identified in 28 mother-child pairs. Streptococcus mutans strain e was seen in 18 pairs. Conclusion: Less than 50% of mother-child pairs showed similarity in distribution of Streptococcus mutans strains.

scholarly journals Early Childhood Dental Caries, Mouth Pain, and Malnutrition in the Ecuadorian Amazon Region

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin So ◽  
Yianni A. Ellenikiotis ◽  
Hannah M. Husby ◽  
Cecilia Leonor Paz ◽  
Brittany Seymour ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Dental Caries ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Early Childhood Caries ◽  
Multivariate Regression Analysis ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Nutrition Status ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Childhood Caries

Malnutrition and dental caries in early childhood remain persistent and intertwined global health challenges, particularly for indigenous and geographically-remote populations. To examine the prevalence and associations between early childhood dental caries, parent-reported mouth pain and malnutrition in the Amazonian region of Ecuador, we conducted a cross-sectional study of the oral health and nutrition status of 1,407 children from birth through age 6 in the &ldquo;Alli Kiru&rdquo; program (2011-2013). We used multivariate regression analysis to examine relationships between severe caries, parent-reported mouth pain measures, and nutritional status. The prevalence of dental caries was 65.4%, with 44.7% of children having deep or severe caries, and 33.8% reporting mouth pain. The number of decayed, missing and filled teeth dmft) increased dramatically with age. Malnutrition was prevalent, with 35.9% of children stunted, 1.1% wasted, 7.4% underweight, and 6.8% overweight. As mouth pain increased in frequency, odds for severe caries increased. For each unit increase in mouth pain frequency interfering with sleeping, children had increased odds for underweight (AOR: 1.27; 95% CI: 1.02 &ndash; 1.54) and decreased odds for overweight (AOR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.58 &ndash; 0.97). This relationship was most pronounced among 3-6 year-olds. Early childhood caries, mouth pain and malnutrition were prevalent in this sample of young children. Parent-reported mouth pain was associated with severe caries, and mouth pain interfering with sleeping was predictive of poor nutritional status. We demonstrate the utility of a parsimonious parent-reported measure of mouth pain to predict young children&rsquo;s risk for severe early childhood caries and malnutrition, which has implications for community health interventions.

scholarly journals Nine years’ trend of dental caries and severe early childhood caries among 3-6-year-old children in Babol, Northern Iran

10.19082/4683 ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 4683-4688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Mehdi Naghibi Sistani ◽  
Zohreh Hataminia ◽  
Mahmoud Hajiahmadi ◽  
Effat Khodadadi
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Dental Caries ◽  
Early Childhood Caries ◽  
Northern Iran ◽  
Severe Early Childhood Caries ◽  
Childhood Caries

scholarly journals A Formative Assessment of Social Determinants of Health Related to Early Childhood Caries in Two American Indian Communities

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 9838
Author(s):  
Kristan Elwell ◽  
Carolyn Camplain ◽  
Christine Kirby ◽  
Katharine Sanderson ◽  
Gloria Grover ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Dental Caries ◽  
Formative Assessment ◽  
American Indian ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Early Childhood Caries ◽  
The Social ◽  
Childhood Caries

In the United States, children from diverse ethnic groups and those with low socioeconomic status are at a significantly increased risk for early childhood caries. Despite the efforts focused on decreasing early childhood caries in American Indian (AI) populations, these children have the highest incidence of dental caries of any ethnic group, with four times the cases of untreated dental caries compared to white children. This qualitative formative assessment was conducted in two AI communities. Semi-structured interviews (n = 57) were conducted with caregivers and providers to understand the social and community contexts in which oral health behaviors and practices occur from the perspective of the caregivers, oral health care providers, and social service providers in the communities. The analysis was informed by the social determinants of health framework. The key social determinants of pediatric oral health relevant to our study communities included limited access to: oral health promoting nutritious foods, transportation for oral health appointments, and pediatric specialty care. This formative assessment provided locally and contextually relevant information to shape the development of an oral health clinical trial intervention to address early childhood caries in these two communities.

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