What is Early Childhood Caries?

Early Childhood Caries (ECC) or Baby Bottle Syndrome (BBS) is a rampant form of tooth decay that destroys the newly erupted primary teeth very quickly. The tooth decay progresses at an astonishingly quick rate and will occur even before the tooth fully erupts.

New Tooth Decay Treatment Guideline Released by ADA

tooth decay

The American Dental Association (ADA) has published a new guideline that recommends that “conservative methods to treat tooth decay” could have better results when used with common restorative materials. This guideline was published in The Journal of the American Dental Association after a panel of dentists extensively reviewed approximately 300 studies. The ADA also reports … Read more

USask Dentistry Research Team Proves Biofilm Method Can Be Used to Inexpensively Test New Tooth Decay Treatments

A University of Saskatchewan (USask) dentistry research team has proved the usefulness of a method of simulating tooth decay that can allow researchers to test new treatment options without a large expense. “Tooth decay places an immense burden on Canadian society, 14 to 17 billion per year is spent on dental caries-related issue; therefore, the development of alternative treatment options for tooth decay … Read more

A New Three-Year Study Demonstrated that MI Varnish from GC was Able to Reduce the Incidence of Tooth Decay in 6- and 12-Year-Old Children Over a Three Year Period

On Friday July 9th, at the 68th annual congress of European Organization for Caries Research (ORCA) in Zagreb, Croatia, Dr. Jekaterina Gudkina (Assistant Professor, Conservative Dentistry and Oral Health Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Riga Stradinš University) presented the result of a 3-year study on reducing the incidence of tooth decay in 6-year and 12-year-old children … Read more

A Gentler Strategy for Avoiding Childhood Dental Decay

The combination of a carb-heavy diet and poor oral hygiene can leave children with early childhood caries (ECC), a severe form of dental decay that can have a lasting impact on their oral and overall health. A few years ago, scientists from Penn’s School of Dental Medicine found that the dental plaque that gives rise to ECC … Read more

FDI World Dental Federation and Smile Train: Children with Clefts are at High Risk for Tooth Decay, Gum Disease and Other Serious Oral Health Concerns

Around the world, a baby is born with a cleft about every three minutes. Many children with clefts have severe difficulties eating, breathing, hearing, and speaking. What’s more, even after having cleft surgery, these children often have a higher risk for tooth decay, gum disease, and other oral health issues. The diverse team of healthcare … Read more

Kiwi Preschoolers Losing Teeth to Painful, Preventable Tooth Decay

Kiwi kids are suffering unnecessarily from severe tooth decay that could be prevented, according to research published today in JAMA Pediatrics, the highest-ranking journal of pediatrics, perinatology and child health in the world. The nation-wide study, evaluating the link between community water fluoridation and the experience of severe tooth decay in four-year-old New Zealand children, analyzed the B4 School Check … Read more

Neutrophils: Potential Culprits in Tooth Decay

proactive dentistry

The World Health Organization estimates that nearly all adults have dental caries at some point in time.1 Resin composite is the most used restorative material in dentistry;2 most resin composite restorations are placed due to secondary caries or recurrent caries that cause restoration failure at a cost of $30 billion a year in North America.3 … Read more

Children’s Dental Health Continuing To Improve

The number of children in Scotland with no obvious sign of tooth decay has hit a record high. Figures from NHS Scotland show four out of five (80%) P7 children had no obvious decay experience in their permanent teeth in 2019. This is up from 53% in 2005 when records began. To view the full … Read more

Down Syndrome Children In UAE Have Higher Rates Of Tooth Decay, Study Finds

Down syndrome children need more help to access proper dental care, according to dentists who found they had significantly higher rates of tooth decay than their non-disabled peers. New research, which focused on Down syndrome children aged between four and 18 in Dubai, revealed that those with the disability had on average 65 per cent … Read more

Tooth Decay May Result From Immune Response, Not Just Bacterial Plaque

Cavities in teeth may result from an immune system response, not just bacteria, according to a recent U of T study. This counters decades of established thinking in dental research. In 1970, Dr. John Gabrovsek of the Cleveland Clinic published research in the Journal of Dental Research that found that our immune system may contribute to dental cavities. But … Read more

Fluoride Reduces Dental Risk From Minimal and Extended Breastfeeding

Cavity-conscious mothers can rest assured their children will not be at increased risk of tooth decay if they can’t breastfeed or they want to breastfeed their children for longer—as long as they have access to fluoridated water, research from the University of Adelaide has found. The new research, led by Dr. Diep Ha of the … Read more

Charcoal Toothpastes “Don’t Whiten Teeth”

Charcoal-based toothpastes, which claim to whiten teeth, are a “marketing gimmick” which could increase the risk of tooth decay and staining, says a review in the British Dental Journal. The charcoal products, which are increasingly popular, often contain no fluoride to help protect the teeth. And there is no scientific evidence to back up the … Read more

Australian Study Finds ‘No-Drill’ Dentistry Stops Tooth Decay

A University of Sydney study has revealed that tooth decay (dental caries) can be stopped, reversed, and prevented without the need for the traditional ‘fill and drill’ approach that has dominated dental care for decades. The results of the seven year study, published today in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, found that the need for fillings … Read more

Popular Ideas on Healthy Teeth Are Marketing, Not Dental Science

Almost any schoolchild can tell you: We prevent cavities by brushing our teeth, because that’s how you remove the sticky film containing millions of decay-causing germs. But this notion is more of an advertising-created myth than fact, according to Philippe Hujoel, a University of Washington School of Dentistry researcher, in an article published in the journal Gerodontology. Almost as … Read more