Early Childhood Caries Rates Decline
Early Childhood Caries Rates Decline The war against early childhood caries (ECC) wages on, but there is new hope that the tide is turning in the battle against this preventable disease. According to preliminary, unpublished data compiled by the United
Early Childhood Caries Rates Decline
The war against early childhood caries (ECC) is ongoing, but there is new hope that the tide is turning in the battle against this preventable disease. According to preliminary, unpublished data compiled by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the incidence of ECC in the US is trending down. These data were presented at the “Innovations in the Prevention and Treatment of Early Childhood Caries” conference, hosted by the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in October.
This new information is encouraging, and demonstrates that efforts to thwart this disease and movements to resolve access-to-care issues are making a difference. Bruce A. Dye, DDS, MPH—key oral health expert for the CDC National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and officer at the National Center for Health Statistics Dental Epidemiology—pointed out that there has been a decade-long trend of increased treatment of ECC among preschool children (age 2 to 5). This most recent insight was extrapolated from a review of the 2011–2012 NHANES longitudinal health data, and precedes a comprehensive data analysis that will report on ECC trends from 2011 through 2014—which will be released in 2015.
While these findings are encouraging, they should not result in the easing of prevention efforts or interventions to improve access to care for all patient populations. With caries remaining the most common chronic disease of childhood, this battle is far from over.
Hygiene Connection E-Newsletter
December 2014
