LAUSR

Not even considered an organ system in its own right (it is part of the digestive system), our primary teeth are now well recognized to be essential contributors to a child’s and an adult’s health and well-being. Receiving their just recognition was a long time in coming for our teeth. The first known publication devoted solely to teeth did not appear until the 1500s: Little Medicinal Book for All Kinds of Diseases and Infirmities of the Teeth (by Artzney Buchlein, a German). About two centuries later in the 1700s, a French surgeon, Pierre Fauchard, wrote the first known “textbook” about teeth, entitled The Surgeon Dentist, A Treatise on Teeth, the first comprehensive guide to dental care ever written. While the medical profession’s understanding of the role of teeth advanced considerably over the ensuing three centuries, confusion regarding the importance of the primary teeth continued to be prevalent. It was not until the last two to four decades that we have come to understand not only the critical role of teeth to health and well-being in general, but also specifically that of the primary teeth. We now know that early childhood caries has significant negative implications for health and well-being not only during childhood but also on into adulthood. Notwithstanding this now generally accepted awareness of the importance of primary and permanent dentition, oral health remains the largest unmet pediatric health care need in the United States. With nearly half of the children under age 11 having had dental caries, this is arguably the most common chronic childhood disorder in the United States. An abundance of evidence suggests that despite the recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics that children visit their dentist every 6 months beginning at age 1 year, this goal is not close to being achieved. Nonetheless, a review of changes in preventative care visitations of children (self-reported by their parents) from 2003 through 2012 found evidence of increasing rates of dental care visits in 45 states. Of concern, and perhaps not surprisingly, children without