Socioeconomic correlation of oral disease in six- to thirty-six month children.

A survey of 441 children between the ages of 6 and 36 months who were born and reared in a fluoridated water supply area revealed den tal caries in 0 percent of children 6 to 11 mon ths of age, 4.2 percent of those 12 to 17 months of age, 19. 79 percent of the 24to 29-month group, and 36.4 percent of those 30 to 36 months of age. In 299 Caucasian children, gingivitis was present in 13.2 percent of those 6 to 17months old, 33.g percent in the 18to 23-month group, and 38.5 percent of those 24 to 36 months of age. Caries prevalence and severity of gingivitis were unrelated to sex, race, and socioeconomic status, although middle and middlelow socioeconomic groups showed a trend toward higher caries frequencies. The total absence of dental care in these young children illustrates the necessity for prevention and treatment of oral disease in children under 36 months of age.