Editorial: Country Profile of the Epidemiology and Clinical Management of Early Childhood Caries

摘要

Early childhood caries (ECC) is the presence of decayed (cavitated and non-cavitated), filled andmissing teeth due to caries, affecting the primary dentition in children less than 72 months old (1). Itis the most common non-communicable disease in children (2) and a global endemic problem withthose socially disadvantaged (ethnic minorities, immigrants, those of low socioeconomic status orfrom resource-limited settings) being most affected. The negative impact of ECC on the qualityof life, growth, social development, and neurodevelopment of affected children makes it ethicallyimperative that public epidemiological and clinical management of ECC improves (3). Whethertreated or not, ECC is a high-risk factor for caries in the first permanent molar, as highlighted bySongur et al. in this topical issue. Four other manuscripts in this special issue emphasize the urgencyof addressing the endemic ECC problem. Musinguzi et al. highlighted that the prevalence of ECCin rural Uganda was 48.6% in 3–5-year-olds, and Castillo et al. showed it was as high as 76.2% in3–5-year-olds in Peru. Also, Pierce et al. reported a prevalence of 98% in some parts of Canada, andAmalia et al. reported a prevalence of 100% in South Kalimantan, Indonesia.