Early caries in children: etiology, diagnosis and treatment. a narrative review

Dental caries remain a major oral health problem affecting children of small ages although it is a perfectly preventable disease. According to the American Association of Pediatric Dentistry, early childhood decay remains a major public health problem (AAPD, 2018). [1]The definition of severe early childhood caries (S-ECC) is any sign of smooth-surface caries in a child younger than three years of age, and from ages three through five, one or more cavitated, missing (due to caries), or filled smooth surfaces in primary maxillary anterior teeth or a decayed, missing, or filled score of greater than or equal to four (age 3), greater than or equal to five (age 4), or greater than or equal to six (age 5)." The risk factors involved in the development of caries such as an imbalanced diet and high daily sugar intake are also involved in generating other diseases, such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease (WHO Report, 2003).[2] Reducing these risk factors could result in an overall improved quality of life which should be a priority for the medical health professionals. Reducing these risk factors should be a priority not for the dentist but also for all the medical health professionals as it can result in an overall improvement of the quality of life.