Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Mar 17;20(1):75.
doi: 10.1186/s12903-020-01067-w.

Recommended procedures for the management of early childhood caries lesions - a scoping review by the Children Experiencing Dental Anxiety: Collaboration on Research and Education (CEDACORE)

Patrícia Corrêa-Faria  1 , Karolline Alves Viana  2 , Daniela Prócida Raggio  3 , Marie Therese Hosey  4 , Luciane Rezende Costa  2
Affiliations

Recommended procedures for the management of early childhood caries lesions - a scoping review by the Children Experiencing Dental Anxiety: Collaboration on Research and Education (CEDACORE)

Patrícia Corrêa-Faria et al. BMC Oral Health. .

Abstract

Background: Early childhood caries (ECC) affects millions of children up to 6 years old. Its treatment positively impacts the quality of life of children and their families. However, there is no consensus on how to treat ECC. Thus, we performed a scoping review to identify the recommended procedures for the management of ECC lesions.

Methods: A search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, The Cochrane Library, The International Guideline Library and pediatric dentistry associations around the world were contacted by email for unpublished search documents. ECC guidelines/guidance/policies were considered eligible regardless of language and publication date.

Results: From a total of 828 references, 52 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and 22 included in the scoping review. We found different procedures recommendations for the management of ECC lesions. For incipient lesions, minimally invasive methods such as professional fluoride and cariostatic (silver diamine) applications, as well as surveillance were recommended. If restoration was required, the recommended materials were glass ionomer cement, composite resin, amalgam and stainless-steel crown. Interim restorations and Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) were also recommended. Extractions have been suggested for teeth with lesions with pulpal involvement, depending on the child's behaviour and other clinical conditions.

Conclusions: Non-operative procedures, restorative and extraction were recommended for the management of ECC, depending on the extent of the lesions. There is no difference between different management guidelines/guidance/policies for ECC lesions.

Keywords: Child, preschool; Dental care; Dental caries; Guideline.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author Daniela Raggio is part of Editorial Board.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram of literature search
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Procedures for the management of ECC lesions
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Kassebaum NJ, Smith AGC, Bernabé E, Fleming TD, Reynolds AE, Vos T, et al. Global, regional, and national prevalence, incidence, and disability-adjusted life years for oral conditions for 195 countries, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the global burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors. J Dent Res. 2017;96:380–387. doi: 10.1177/0022034517693566. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tinanoff N, Baez RJ, Diaz Guillory C, Donly KJ, Feldens CA, McGrath C, et al. Early childhood caries epidemiology, aetiology, risk assessment, societal burden, management, education, and policy: global perspective. Int J Paediatr Dent. 2019;29:238–248. doi: 10.1111/ipd.12484. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Pitts N, Baez R, Diaz-Guallory C, Donly K, Feldens C, McGrath C, et al. Early childhood caries: IAPD Bangkok declaration. Int J Paediatr Dent. 2019;29:384–386. doi: 10.1111/ipd.12490. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Drury TF, Horowitz AM, Ismail AI, Maertens MP, Rozier RG, Selwitz RH. Diagnosing and reporting early childhood caries for research purposes. J Public Health Dent. 1999;59:192–197. doi: 10.1111/j.1752-7325.1999.tb03268.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Piva F, Pereira JT, Luz PB, Hugo FN, de Araújo FB. Caries progression as a risk factor for increase in the negative impact on OHRQOL-a longitudinal study. Clin Oral Investig. 2018;22:819–828. doi: 10.1007/s00784-017-2157-4. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

Substances