Children's Risk for Dental Caries

Revision with unchanged content. Dental caries is one of the most common childhood illnesses. The Surgeon General's report in the year 2000 considered the disease to be the single most common chronic childhood illness, being five times more common than asthma and seven times more common than hay fever. Dental caries is known to be a multifactorial disease resulting from the interaction of diet and microorganisms on tooth structure over time. Other risk factors which have been suggested but not yet fully understood include early childhood infections and the intake of certain medications such as antibiotics. These are especially important because they can estabish a link between the child's medical and dental health and can be a point of communication between physicians and dentists. This book examins the relationship between some of the most common childhood infections including ear and respiratory infections and the development of dental caries in very young children. The book is addressed to dentists, pediatricians, dental hygienists and dental students.