Abstract
Although several studies have indicated that the prevalence of dental caries has decreased in Japanese children under the age of 3 years in recent years, many children still visit the pediatric dental clinics of college dental hospitals. We investigated the actual condition of dental caries in younger children in order to provide adequate medical information and healthcare to our patients and their parents, as well as local practitioners. We conducted this survey of 117 children aged under 3 years who visited the pediatric dental clinic of Suidobashi Hospital, Tokyo Dental College, for the first time between January 2010 and December 2012. We analyzed the prevalence and severity of dental caries,and obtained the following results.1.Of all surveyed patients, 76.9% lived in the special wards of Tokyo. Furthermore, 85% were aged from 18 months to 3 years of age.2.Of all children with dental caries, 80% had those reaching the dentine and 40% had exposed pulp. Dental caries with exposed pulp was observed in 11.8% of children under 18 months, in 39.4% of those from 18 to 23 months of age, and in 46.9% of those from 2 to 3 years of age.3.Of all children with dental caries, 26.5% had dental decay in more than half of the erupted primary teeth. Patients with a high dmf rate tended to show more severe dental decay.4.Among our patients, 59.0% had a referral letter from other clinics. Furthermore, 77.6% of patients with exposed pulp had a referral letter, whereas 54.4% of children without pulp exposure directly visited our clinic.5.Mother's milk and baby formula given in a feeding bottle were significant risk factors for both high dmf rate and severe dental caries in children who were 18 months of age and older.We found that a high percentage of first-time patients had severe dental caries, thus adequate diagnosis and appropriate treatment for dental caries in younger children remain important.
