Rationale for the timing of the first oral evaluation.

The oral health of children living in industrialized countries has improved remarkably in the last 20 years, but many children still suffer from oral disease including caries, gingival infection, and malocclusion. Many studies report risk factors associated with the development of oral disease in children. While none provides a formula to determine accurately at birth the infant who will have the greatest risk of oral disease later in life, some studies strongly support early identification and management of contributing factors. Today, health supervision for children younger than 3 years of age remains the purview of primary care physicians, with preventive counseling and early identification of disease in their hands (AAP Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care, 1995).