5.3 Treatment of Population Groups

Birth to Age 4

Patients at Low Risk

Patients from birth through age 4 who are at low risk for dental caries have no carious lesions of any type and no modifiers that place them at risk for caries, such as siblings with a history of caries or continued bottle feeding after age 12 months. Since they need no surgical restoration, treatment consists of preventive strategies. These include education and reinforcement, supervised use of fluoridated toothpaste, dental sealants (if tooth morphology dictates this and behavior permits sealant placement), and perhaps fluoride supplements. The recall interval is 6 to 12 months.

Patients at High Risk

Treatment for patients who are at high risk for dental caries may range from preventive strategies only to surgical extractions and/or restorations in the operating room. The most appropriate treatment for young child who are cared for by an adult or adults with an active caries infection may be preventive strategies for the child and preventive strategies and surgical restoration for the infected adult(s). Children with white spot lesions and some harmful modifying factors will need aggressive preventive strategies and short recall intervals to stop dental caries from progressing. For more information about treating young children at high risk, see “Early Childhood Caries.”

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