NEW YORK, Jan 27 (Reuters Health) -- Children in the 1990s were less
likely to have cavities in their baby teeth compared with their counterparts in
the early 1970s, study findings suggest.
Children aged 2 to 10 in the 1970s had about 1 or 2 cavities in their baby
teeth (average: 1.42) compared with 0 or 1 cavity (average: 0.63) in the 1990s.
Overall, the number of untreated decayed teeth in children between the
ages of 2 and 10 decreased by more than 50% since the early 1970s, according to
a report in the January issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association.
"An epidemic that started in the 19th century crested in this century and
has now started to wane," said study co-author Dr. L. Jackson Brown in an
interview with Reuters Health.
Brown attributed the dramatic declines to several factors. "Fluoride in
all its various forms is a major reason," he said. "Practicing dentists today
have better preventive and alternative therapies to help maintain oral health."
Brown also said the visibility of dental products on the market has
influenced the public to take better care of their teeth.
"We have to continue our vigilance," said Brown, who is the associate
executive director of the American Dental Association's Health Policy Resource
Center. "If it's correct to say that fluoride is a major influence, then we must
continue to use fluoride at optimum levels."
However, the decline in untreated decayed teeth has been more pronounced
in some groups of children than others.
Poor children experienced a higher level of untreated tooth decay than
children above the poverty level, and black children experienced a higher level
than white children.
"We need to look to mechanisms and adequate funding to get disadvantaged
children into care," said Brown.
According to the study, the findings also indicate that the practice of
children's dentistry may be making a transition from treatment to diagnosis and
prevention.
The report is based on data from the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Surveys (NHANES) conducted by the National Center for Health
Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 1971-1974
and 1988-1994.
