New study: prevention not treatment must be way forward for kids’ teeth

However, the Association has stressed that all treatment options must remain available so that dentists can use their expertise and clinical judgement to recommend the most appropriate option for each patient and each tooth.

The three-year UK-wide FICTION study from academics based in Dundee, Newcastle, Sheffield, Cardiff, Queen Mary University of London, and Leeds tracked children who experienced tooth decay and pain and allocated them to groups receiving conventional treatment (filling plus prevention), sealing in of the decay plus prevention or prevention alone. The results showed little difference in outcomes between the groups

The paper recommends that preventive measures can be used to stop decay from worsening in children. But the BDA says the conversation should really be about how to prevent children having tooth decay in the first place, not about how best to treat it when it happens.