Preventing early childhood caries: lessons from the field

Early childhood caries (ECC) is a significant public health concern affecting millions of high-risk families with young children. The purpose of this article is to present the proceedings from a May 2005 national forum, convened in Washington, DC, by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration, which brought together representatives of 14 ECC programs from around the United States to share experiences and help inform future efforts to prevent and reduce ECC. Conclusions drawn from the presentations representing public, private, and academic sectors include: (1) oral health is an integral part of overall health and impacts quality of life and health outcomes; (2) oral health should be integrated into broader child health and development systems; (3) dental caries should be addressed through a chronic disease management model; (4) comprehensive approaches incorporating multiple strategies that involve families, clinicians, and child services providers in ECC prevention and reduction efforts should be employed. Lessons learned from existing ECC programs-summaries of which are included in the article-provide valuable insight into a number of core principles for preventing ECC. Findings from this workshop constitute a knowledge base that can help improve and strengthen ECC programs.