472 oral examination papers and 573 questionnaire papers on first-visit patients who visited the Pedodontic Clinic of Tokushima University Dental Hospital during the period from October 1977 to September 1982, were investigated.
The purpose of this study was to understand the actual condition of the patients who visited the hospital and to succeed in the prevention of dental caries in our clinic and locality.
The results showed a greater prevalence of carious deciduous teeth than the mean df teeth numbers for Japanese children, especially 2-4 years old, higher rates of untreated deciduous teeth, the higher rates of irregular suckling during the suckling period, delayed bottle feeding habits and irregular intake of betweenmeal snacks, and that 38.4% of the mothers did not know how to prevent dental caries.
Therefore, to effectively improve the oral health status of children, the introduction of preventive guidance, including dietary habits and oral hygiene habits, is most required.
Most of the mothers of the parients requested long-term oral health care for children including prevention of dental caries, periodontal disease and guidance in developing occlusion.