ReviewInternational dental journal2024
Early Childhood Caries and Dental Public Health Programmes in Hong Kong.
Review in International dental journal, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Global policy approaches to combat early childhood caries: a scoping review with evidence map.Frontiers in oral health · 2025Pooled it
- Activity and levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 in saliva of children and young adults with dental caries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC oral health · 2024Pooled it
- Early Childhood Caries in Preschool Children: A Multidimensional Analysis From Biological Mechanisms to Socioecological Interventions.Oral diseases · 2026Review
- Parents' Views on Access to Dental Care and the Interim Canada Dental Benefit.JDR clinical and translational research · 2026Article
- Addressing Research Gaps in Early Childhood Caries: A Comprehensive Review.Dentistry journal · 2026Review
- Age-Related Trends of Caries Experience Among Preschool Children in Shenzhen, China: A Cross-Sectional Study.Dentistry journal · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of silver diamine fluoride in preventing and arresting dental caries in pediatric dentistry.Dental research journal · 2026Review
- Prevalence and risk factors for dental caries among 3-year-old children in Shanghai, China: a cross-sectional study.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- A visualization system for intelligent diagnosis and statistical analysis of oral diseases based on panoramic radiography.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Dental Caries and Erosive Tooth Wear Among 12-Year-Old Hong Kong Children.International dental journal · 2025Article
- Cross-sectional survey on dental caries among preschool children in Guangzhou city in 2022.BMJ open · 2025Article
- A scoping review on early childhood caries and inequalities using the Sustainable Development Goal 10 framework.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Effects of graded preventive measures on dental caries prevention in young children susceptible to caries.American journal of translational research · 2025Article
- Article
- Dental caries status and related factors among 5-year-old children in Shanghai.BMC oral health · 2024Article
- The pharmacokinetics of 38% silver diamine fluoride in healthy children with dental caries: a quasi-experimental study.European archives of paediatric dentistry : official journal of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship amongst early childhood caries (ECC), economic development, and dental public health programmes in Hong Kong. We searched exhaustively qualitative and quantitative data on the oral health policy, dental service, public health strategies of caries control and epidemiologic surveys on ECC. We then performed meta-regression to explore the impact of the Human Development Index (HDI), gross domestic product (GDP) growth, water fluoridation, oral health promotion, dental school establishment, free education, and dental workforce on ECC prevalence in 5-year-olds. We found that the first government oral health survey was conducted in 1960, when Hong Kong experienced significant growth, as the HDI indicated. The survey revealed that 97% of 6- to 8-year-old children experienced ECC. Water fluoridation was implemented in 1961 at 0.7 ppm (0.9 ppm in winter) to prevent caries. The government offered free 9-year education in 1978. In 1981, the government established a dental school to improve a low dentist-to-population ratio of 1:9000. The ECC prevalence amongst 5- to 6- year-old children was reduced from 84% in 1968 to 63% in 1986. The Department of Health created an oral health education division in 1989. The ECC prevalence for 5-year-old children was further reduced to 44% in 1997. The ECC prevalence amongst 5-year-old children was stabilised at 51% both in 2001 and 2011. However in 2021, the prevalence of untreated ECC increased to 57% during the outbreak of COVID-19. Meta-regression analysis showed that ECC prevalence was not linked to GDP growth but decreased with improvements in HDI, the provision of 9-year free education, the establishment of a dental school, fluoridation of water supply, and implementation of territory-wide oral health promotion. In conclusion, better education, living conditions, and dental public health programmes have improved children's oral health in Hong Kong.
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Registered trials
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