Role of the comforter as an aetiological factor in rampant caries of the deciduous dentition

Abstract

An attempt has been made to establish the aetiological factors involved in 100 pre-school children presenting with rampant caries of the deciduous dentition by comparing them with a similar number of controls. The results suggest that there are two main factors controlling the incidence of rampant caries in the pre-school population. One is a predisposition to the disease, which may be partially determined by abnormality of pregnancy, labour, or delivery, by prematurity, or by recurrent minor illness during the early years of life. The other, more important factor, is due to changes in the oral environment brought about by the frequent and prolonged ingestion of milk, fruit juices, or syrups which have been sweetened by the addition of sugar. The mode of ingestion of these substances appears to be causally related to the caries prevalence, and in this respect, the prolonged sucking of sweetened comforter feeding bottles, hollow feeders, and dummies seem to be extremely significant.