Nutrition, oral health and the young child

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 developing countries, as development increases so does dental caries and children are at the forefront of the disease disadvantage. There is a growing need to identify high caries risk groups accurately to commence prevention from a young age. The effect of early intervention in childhood on general and dental health with both population and high-risk approaches also needs examining. As an educational tool, the paediatric food-based dietary guidelines may play a significant role in nutrition and oral health interventions. This paper provides information on nutrition, including access to fluoride and use of sugar. Oral health concerns, such as early childhood caries, which are important for the young child, are also discussed. © 2007 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.