Nutrition, oral health and the young child

Abstract

Oral health is integral to general health and essential to well-being and quality of life. Socio-behavioural and environmental factors play a significant role in oral disease and oral health.Dental caries is a global disease with few populations exempt from its effects. In developingcountries, as development increases so does dental caries and children are at the forefront of thedisease disadvantage. There is a growing need to identify high caries risk groups accurately tocommence prevention from a young age.The effect of early intervention in childhood on generaland dental health with both population and high-risk approaches also needs examining. As aneducational tool, the paediatric food-based dietary guidelines may play a significant role innutrition and oral health interventions. This paper provides information on nutrition, includingaccess to fluoride and use of sugar.Oral health concerns,such as early childhood caries,which areimportant for the young child, are also discussed.