Theodore Suher

Dental Caries in Children One to Six Years of Age as Related to Socioeconomic Level, Food Habits, and Toothbrushing

URING 1951, we examined 650 children, 1 to 6 years of age, living in L/ Portland, Oregon, for dental caries experience. Children of this young age level could be reached only at different nurseries, kindergartens, and grade schools. The staffs at different nurseries revealed that some of the nurseries were partly financed by charitable organizations, and others were maintained privately by the fees paid by the parents. We surmised that this factor would select the children from two different socioeconomic levels. Studying the dental caries incidence of children, according to the nursery attended, revealed a significant difference.4 However, the method used for determining the socioeconomic status of parents from the characteristics of the nursery (whether receiving public or private support) was criticized by sociologists on the basis of being poor in distinguishing socioeconomic levels. It was recommended that greater accuracy in establishing socioeconomic status of parents would be obtained if a trained interviewer visited the home of each child and, using a standardized questionnaire, secured information from the parents. The present investigation was therefore planned to study the association of dental caries in children with the socioeconomic status of parents. The possibility of the differences in socioeconomic status of parents resulting in variation in the frequency of refined carbohydrate consumption and health education of children (brushing of teeth) was also considered and investigated in this study.

Caries Experience Among Institutionalized Children in the Pacific Northwest

IN RECENT years, it has been reported in the literature that institutionalized children are less susceptible to caries attack in comparison with children attending public schools.1-3 The low caries attack rates observed among the institutionalized children have been attributed to a combination of the following environmental factors: the regimentation of living conditions, the sheltered life at the institution which is accompanied by freedom from emotional tensions, and the adequacy of the daily diet. The present paper presents the results of an investigation on the caries experience observed among institutionalized children in the Pacific Northwest region of the country. The results of this study are at variance with the generally accepted opinion that institutionalized children tend to be less susceptible to caries attack. The present study is a part of a longitudinal investigation for the evaluation of laboratory tests for the estimation of caries activity.

A case report of rampant dental caries at eleven months of age

Introduction R AMPANT dental caries is rare during infancy; a review of the literature revealed that no such eases have been reported. Rapid decay of teeth at, such an early age should be detected early so that measures to prevent or control caries may be instituted during the incipient stage. The pediatrician would be the first person to recognize this condition; therefore, close attention of the pediatrician to the examination of t,he oral cavity, and early referral to the pedodontist are essential. A case report is presented that illustrates the severity of dental caries, which, though detected at, an early age, had progressed so rapidly and so far t,hat irreparable damage had occurred before the infant was referred to a pedodontist. Case Report