An Incident Assessment for Early Childhood Caries in Turkey

Background: Considering Turkey’s sui generis cultural and traditional habits, customs and mistakes in dietary and feeding processes, and parental education level, the main goals for overcoming the oral and dental disease increase in 0-6 years children should be set as; providing healthy toddlers and young children with regular dental clinic check-ups in a similar way of screening their overall growth, thus following-up the teeth development by performing periodic dental examinations, enhancing the non-dental health practitioners’ or caregivers’ academic curriculums by adding oral hygiene so that they can deliver training for the parents, and establishing the preventative treatment approaches.

In struggling against Early Childhood Carries (ECC), we should primarily determine its prevalence. Some data are available on ECC prevalence in the different geographical regions of Turkey. But considering the researches conducted and measures taken so far, the obtained data revealed that the efforts for tackling the ECC were unsatisfactory. The eventual cause for this can be explained that the children with ECC had not visited a dental practitioner before cavity development.

According to the data obtained in the latest studies, conducted in 2000s; ECC prevalence had been varied between 44 and 77 % in the different regions. But these rates are not reflecting the Turkey’s average yet. Actual study data should be obtained through new nationwide researches or surveys and oral/dental health standards should be established in accordance with WHO Global Goals for Oral Health for the year 2020.

Although it seems difficult to meet these goals, WHO objectives and targets in present day conditions, strategic actions and measures should be taken for at least getting closer to. In order to fulfill these measures, new state policies and projects should be established for improving and maintaining the oral and dental health in Turkey.