Abstract
In this study, we investigated the state of dental caries and treatment in children less than 3 years of age during the period of deciduous teeth of the eruption, for whom dental treatment is considered difficult.
The subjects were 138 children less than 3 years of age at the first examination, consisting of 87 boys and 51 girls, who underwent treatment of dental caries in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry of Tokyo Dental College Suidobashi Hospital during a period of 4 years 3 months from April in 2000. The following results were obtained.
1. The number of patients was slightly larger in the age groups of 1 year 6 months to 1 year 9 months and higher than 2 years.
2. The patients consulted our department most often with or without a letter of referral by a local dentist.
3. The total number of teeth with caries was 718, and the mean was 5.2 per patient. Some patients had dental caries in more than half the erupted teeth in each age group.
4. The rate of severe dental caries was higher in the patients aged less than 2 years of age, while in the patients aged more than 2 years of age, the rate of mild dental caries was only slightly higher.
5. Treatment was completed in less than 5 times in most of the patients.
6. Relatively complicated treatment was performed on the patients 1 year 6 months to 1 year 9 months of age, while for the patients aged more than 2 years of age, simple treatment was predominant.
