Division of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Centre for Dental Education and Research (CDER), All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, 110029, India.
Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Indian J Pediatr. 2018 Mar;85(3):202-206. doi: 10.1007/s12098-017-2381-6. Epub 2017 Jun 23.
Dental caries is one of the most prevalent disease (about 50%) in children across the globe. If not treated in time, it can affect not only the mastication function but also the speech, smile and psychosocial environment and the quality of life of the child and the family. The treatment of dental diseases is very expensive in all countries and prevention is very simple and effective. The caries in children below 6 y is called early childhood caries (ECC). It is most commonly caused by milk bottle or mother's feed during night. The ECC spreads very fast and can cause severe pain, abscess, swelling, fever and psychological disturbances in children. The treatment of ECC requires multiple appointments and still the prognosis is not very promising in mutilated dentitions. A physician or pediatrician can easily identify early caries and habits of parents leading to caries and can counsel them for prevention and refer them to the specialist. Good oral hygiene, dietary modification with respect to use of sugar and sticky food and healthy diet can help in preventing this disease in children. The need of the time is to appraise all on the methods of dental caries prevention.
龋齿是全球儿童中最常见的疾病之一（约占 50%）。如果不及时治疗，它不仅会影响咀嚼功能，还会影响儿童和家庭的言语、微笑、社会心理环境和生活质量。所有国家治疗牙科疾病的费用都非常高，而预防措施非常简单有效。6 岁以下儿童的龋齿称为幼儿龋齿（ECC）。它最常由奶瓶或母亲夜间喂奶引起。ECC 传播非常迅速，可导致儿童严重疼痛、脓肿、肿胀、发热和心理困扰。ECC 的治疗需要多次预约，而且在残缺的牙齿中预后并不十分乐观。医生或儿科医生可以很容易地识别早期龋齿以及导致龋齿的父母的习惯，并为他们提供预防建议并将他们转介给专家。良好的口腔卫生、饮食中减少糖和粘性食物的摄入以及健康的饮食有助于预防儿童患这种疾病。当前需要评估所有预防龋齿的方法。
