Association of Pediatric Dental Caries With Passive Smoking

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Abstract
Tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood disease; annual treatment costs in the United States are estimated to be at least $4.5 billion.1,2 If left untreated, tooth decay can result in substantial morbidity due to pain, dysfunction, poor appearance, and possibly problems with speech development. In the past 50 years, probably as a result of dentifrices and increased levels of fluoride in drinking water, pediatric dental caries occurrence in the United States has declined dramatically; nevertheless, there remain important disparities in caries prevalence within the population.3,4 In particular, young children living in poverty constitute the 1 subgroup in which there has been little progress in reduction of caries.5 Hence, it is especially important to identify modifiable risk factors for caries in this group.