1 in 2 kids in S'pore has tooth decay by kindergarten age

The child was not even five when paediatric dentist Bien Lai Wen Pui pulled out all 20 of his baby teeth while he was under general anaesthesia.

- Judith Tan

He had no teeth until new adult ones emerged at the age of seven.

"They were all rotten and causing him a lot of pain. Sometimes when you extract the bad teeth, the child can eat better," said Dr Bien Lai, who heads the Paediatric Dentistry Unit at the National Dental Centre Singapore (NDCS).

To prevent such extractions, NDCS relaunched its Infant Oral Health Programme in December 2020 to help parents understand that tooth decay in very young children can largely be preventable.

The programme is part of its Paediatric Population Oral Health Initiatives to direct efforts upstream by increasing oral health awareness and promoting healthy dietary and oral health habits from an early age.

Since its inception, over 300 children have benefited from this early intervention.

Tooth decay, formally known as early childhood caries (ECC), is the most prevalent chronic disease in children that is largely preventable.

About one in two children in Singapore suffers tooth decay by the time they enter kindergarten, according to NDCS. This is an increase from two in five found in the 2009 study.

The impact is considerable, said Dr Bien Lai: "When a child has too many cavities, it may be difficult for him or her to brush the teeth well, resulting in food being trapped and causing tooth decay to worsen. Untreated tooth decay also results in pain, swelling, bad breath, missed school days due to pain or the need to go for dental appointments, affects diet and sleep, and growth and development."