Well-baby dental examinations: a survey of preschool children's oral health.

Well-baby dental visits provide early prevention and detection of dental disease for the infant and preschool child. A survey of the dental records of 379 preschool children from the ages of 6 months to 4.5 years were reviewed from a population of military family dependents. The caries activity of this population was found to be 8.9%, with a dft of 0.25. Nursing caries was clinically definable in 5.3% of the children, accounting for 58.8% of all reported caries. Malocclusion occurred in 6.3%, with anterior open bite and posterior crossbite found most commonly. No soft tissue pathology was noted. Evidence of previous dental trauma to the maxillary incisors with crown discoloration was found in 2.9%. These early dental visits provide a pleasant introduction to dental oral health and prevention for both parents and children. Early dental examinations should focus the parent's attention on the child's future oral health and provide an understanding of the causes of nursing caries.