Long-term oral health outcomes of early childhood caries treatment

Early Childhood Caries (ECC) remains a persistent challenge in pediatric dentistry, with long-term implications for children’s oral health and well-being. While comprehensive dental treatment under general anesthesia (GA) is often used to manage severe ECC, limited data exist on how such early interventions influence caries risk in the permanent dentition. This retrospective cohort study examined the association between early treatment of ECC and the presence of caries in early permanent teeth, using DMFT scores at age 12 as the primary outcome.438 children aged 2–6 at their first dental visit to the University of Iowa College of Dentistry were included, provided they received care for at least 80% of the years until age 12. Data on treatment modality, anesthesia use, preventive interventions (sealants, fluoride varnish, SDF), and follow-up patterns were extracted from electronic health records. Logistic regression models assessed the impact of these factors on caries presence at age 12, both for the full sample and a subgroup with cavitated lesions (n = 312).