Epidemiology and Clinical Management of Early Childhood Caries in Israel.

The aim of the present review is to describe the current status of early childhood caries (ECC) in Israel in aspects of epidemiology, prevention, and management. PubMed search was performed using the words caries, children, Israel. Demographic data was collected from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics. The decayed, missing, and filled teeth index was 2.72 in 1992 and 2.56 in 2016. The proportion of restored teeth has increased. A number of preventive programs are ongoing but a general preventive program is lacking at the national level. From 2010, every child in Israel is eligible to receive free dental treatment. The gaps in understanding of the epidemiological profile of ECC in Israel is a call for more research conduct on ECC in the country.