29
Volume2 Issue4
|
I
ssues and
P
eople
Early ChildhoodCaries
ONLYTHETIPOFTHEICEBERG?
Theprofession’sfight to raiseawareness about early childhood caries (ECC) is farfrombeingover.Yet byapproaching
ECCas a symptomof amuch largerproblem, thedental community couldhelpgovernment leaders andotherhealth
professionals tacklean important publichealth issue—malnutrition.
CDAdiscussed the current situationwithDr.OlvaOdlum, senior scholar inpreventivedental scienceat theUniversityof
Manitoba’s facultyof dentistry.Dr.Odlum servedasheadof theuniversity’sdivisionof communitydentistry for26years.
Listen to the
interviewat
Dr.OlvaOdlum
If, for example, a physician going in toa
kindergarten class found out that every child
in that class hadmissingfingers, surely
they’d say “wait aminute—there’s something
going onhere.”
If, for example, aphysiciangoing in toa
kindergartenclass foundout that everychild
in that classhadmissingfingers, surely they’d
say “wait aminute—there’s somethinggoing
onhere.” Yet convincing families that ECC is
a serious issue isdifficult, aswemight see
secondor even thirdgenerationswhere
childrenhaveendedupwithno front baby
teeth, andof coursewith severedental
complications as their permanent teeth
erupted too soon.
Researchhas shown that brokenand
abscessed teeth inveryyoungchildren
mayverywell beaccompaniedby systemic
andpossiblydevelopmental problems. An
obvious long-termeffect is theneed for
orthodontic treatments—and thechancesof
most of thesechildrengettingorthodontics
ispretty slim.
Canyou tell usabout thedocumentyou
preparedon this issue?
I preparedabackgroundpaper formy local
MPashehasquiteahighnumber ofwhat
wewouldconsider high-risk communities
inhis constituencies. I haveworkedas a
Couldyouexplainofextentof the
problem?
TheCanadian Institute forHealth Information
(CIHI) recentlypublished theannual number
of childrenages 2 to5whoundergoday
surgerybecauseof ECC.
1
We’re talking
about 19,000childreneveryyear. And that
number is actuallyanunderestimateas it
doesn’t includeQuebecchildrennor those
seen inprivatedental clinics.
Why is it important to talkabout it?
When18-month-oldchildrenhave
abscessed front teeth, youhave to start
wonderingwhat they’rebeing fed. I think
we’recurrently farmoreconcernedabout
thehealth risksof poor nutritionandputting
childrenunder general anesthesiawhen
theymaynot be that healthy.We’vehada
few situationswherechildrenhavehadvery
serious complicationsbecause theywerenot
ingreat shape to startwith.
