Prosthetic rehabilitation in a four-year-old child with severe early childhood caries: a case report.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this case report was to describe the oral rehabilitation of a 4-year-old girl presenting early childhood caries (ECC).


BACKGROUND
ECC is highly prevalent in developing countries and its severity increases with age. This disease implies serious consequences for the development of the stomatognathic system and for the child's quality of life. As young children are usually anxious about dental treatment, their level of co-operation is limited, leading to a challenging situation.


METHODS
A 4-year-old girl was brought by her mother for dental treatment with the complaint of pain. The clinical examination revealed extensive carious coronary destructions. After preventive and curative measures, the oral rehabilitation was performed; it included the use of stainless steel crowns, resin filled celluloid crowns with previous cementation of glass post pins when necessary, an amalgam restoration, orthodontic treatment, and a partial removable prosthesis. The child has been monitored in the Pediatric Dentistry Clinic at 4-monthly intervals.


CONCLUSIONS
The oral rehabilitation was able to reestablish the oral health in the primary arches mutilated by early childhood caries. This is important for the establishment of an adequate mixed and permanent dentition, for proper facial and maxillary growth, and to the child's psychological and social development.


CONCLUSIONS
The full management, including preventive, psychological, and curative measures of a young child with severe ECC was found successful after 8 months of follow up. This result can encourage the clinicians to seek a cost-effective technique such as stainless steel crowns, resin filled celluloid crowns, and partial removable prosthesis to reestablish the oral functions and improve the child's psycho-social development.
Parisotto
Thaís Manzano
TM
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil. thaisparisotto@fop.unicamp.br
de Souza-E-Silva
Cintia Maria
CM
Steiner-Oliveira
Carolina
C
Nobre-dos-Santos
Marinês
M
Gavião
Maria Beatriz Duarte
MB
D002675:Child, Preschool; D003188:Composite Resins; D003442:Crowns; D003722:Dental Alloys; D003723:Dental Amalgam; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000628:therapy*; D003764:Dental Materials; D017267:Dental Prosthesis Design; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent; D003832:Denture, Partial, Removable; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005898:Glass; D006801:Humans; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000628:therapy; D009065:Mouth Rehabilitation; D011176:Post and Core Technique; D013193:Stainless Steel; D014087:Tooth Movement Techniques
D003188:Composite Resins; D003722:Dental Alloys; D003764:Dental Materials; D013193:Stainless Steel; D003723:Dental Amalgam