title: Risk factors for early childhood caries in disadvantaged populations.
abstract: Early childhood caries is a significant international public health problem. The aim of this paper was to review the current evidence of the risk factors for dental caries in disadvantaged children under 6 years of age. Medline, Cochrane, and PubMed database searches were conducted. Systematic reviews were used where available, or meta-analyses; randomized, controlled trials; and cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies (in that order). Studies were restricted to those published in English from 1990 to October 2010. Early childhood caries has a complex etiology with biological, behavioral, and sociodemographic influences. Evidence suggests that young children are most likely to develop caries if Streptococcus mutans is acquired at an early age, although this is influenced by other factors, such as oral hygiene, fluoride, diet, dental visit patterns, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and health literacy. Etiological pathways should be taken into consideration when designing interventions to prevent dental caries in disadvantaged preschool children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Oral Health, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia Department of Community Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arora
authors.forename: Eli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.forename: Anthony Stevenson
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Blinkhorn
mesh_terms: D002327:Cariostatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003729:Dental Care; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000209:etiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005459:Fluorides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000502:physiology; D035862:Vulnerable Populations
chemical_list: D002327:Cariostatic Agents; D005459:Fluorides
keywords: dental caries; disadvantaged population; early childhood caries; preschool children; risk factor