Early Childhood Caries in Peru

Abstract

Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is a global oral health problem, and Peru may be one of the countries with high prevalence of untreated ECC in South America. In this study, we constructed an epidemiologic profile of ECC in Peru through a comprehensive review of published data. The prevalence of ECC, risk factors for it, its impact on child development, and public oral health interventions on ECC have been included. The study revealed extremely high rates of ECC in Peru and significant oral-health disparities. Risk factors for ECC were poverty, high sugar consumption, and low oral health literacy. However, the number of studies is limited and their quality questionable. Oral health has not received high public-health priority in Peru. However, in recent years, new regulations and evidence-based documents (the first Clinical Practice Guideline for the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Caries in Children; the Guideline for Children's healthy Growth and Development; the Law on Healthy Diet; and the Manual on Food Advertising) give hope for the future of infants' oral health in the nation.