Dental Decay is the most common chronic disease among school aged children. In fact, dental disease is more common than childhood asthma. By the time children go to school, 50% of them have already experienced tooth decay in California. As a result, children miss school, learn less, are in pain, or end up in the emergency room due to oral infections. Research, and reports support this position (California Children’s Report Card gave a C- for Oral Health Care in 2020). Treating decay in very young children is very challenging. The good news is that decay is a totally preventable disease. Using a multi-disciplinary approach for early education and intervention with expecting parents, I expect children to have a reduced rate of dental decay by the time their children are 3 years old.

Several efforts to decrease dental decay have already been implemented. Safety net clinics, such as Marin Community Clinics have treated children from the moment, they have their first tooth. Expecting parents are referred early on for dental care. Despite all these efforts, we are still seeing dental decay as a chronic disease in very young children. Our population is not completely aware of the etiology of this disease and the lack of understanding and knowledge is producing little effect in preventing tooth decay.