The Role of Preventive Pediatrics Dentistry in Oral Health: A Review of Evidence-Based Strategies

Abstract

Early childhood caries and other preventable oral diseases remain among the most common chronic conditions affecting children worldwide. Their burden is disproportionately concentrated among socially disadvantaged, rural, and medically vulnerable populations, where delayed dental attendance and limited access to preventive care contribute to disease progression, pain, infection, impaired nutrition, school absenteeism, and reduced quality of life. This narrative review summarizes contemporary evidence on preventive pediatric dentistry, with emphasis on caries-risk assessment, fluoride therapy, pit-and-fissure sealants, oral hygiene instruction, behavior modification, dietary counseling, anticipatory guidance, early dental visits, silver diamine fluoride, minimally invasive care, school-based programs, and emerging preventive technologies. Evidence consistently supports prevention-oriented, risk-based care models that combine professional interventions with caregiver education, dietary change, and community-level strategies. Fluoride exposure, sealant placement, motivational interviewing, and integrated medical-dental prevention are particularly important for high-risk children. Silver diamine fluoride and atraumatic or interim restorative approaches may reduce disease progression and improve access to care when conventional restorative treatment is difficult or unavailable. However, implementation remains limited by caregiver knowledge, socioeconomic inequality, workforce constraints, reimbursement barriers, and inconsistent integration of oral health into primary care systems. Preventive pediatric dentistry should therefore move beyond isolated clinical procedures toward coordinated, culturally responsive, evidence-based care that begins early in life and continues across childhood and adolescence.