USA - Your Health: The war on cavities begins earlier

Your Health: The war on cavities begins earlier
By Kim Painter, USA TODAY
Kids in Massachusetts day care centers and preschools have a new activity to fit in between napping, coloring and snacking: They have to brush their teeth (or have them brushed by a staffer).
Under new regulations that took effect in January, Massachusetts became the first state to require tooth-brushing for kids who spend more than four hours a day or have meals in licensed centers.

The edict has prompted some complaints from already-busy child care workers and from parents who don't want the hand of Big Brother in their children's mouths (though parents can opt children out of the program). But "we're also hearing lots of positive feedback," says Sherri Killins, head of the state's Department of Early Education and Care. "We think it's the right policy."
And it's just one new line of attack on a somewhat surprising problem: Despite widespread water fluoridation and advances in dental care, cavities were more common among children in the early 2000s than they were a decade earlier, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Cavities are alive and well in the United States," says William Berlocher, a pediatric dentist in Corpus Christi, Texas, and president of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. One-third of children already have cavities by ages 3 to 5, he says.
The problem is widespread, especially among poor children, but "it's largely preventable," says Inyang Isong, a pediatrician at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston. The preschool brushing program is "a wonderful idea," she says.....