Dental researchers are combining the ease of digital photography with the internet to develop a new, inexpensive way to screen for a common childhood oral disease that predominantly plagues America's inner city toddlers.

According to the University of Rochester Medical Center, USA, early childhood dental caries (ECC), or as it is commonly called, ‘baby bottle tooth decay’, where cavities are caused by prolonged exposure to sweetened juices often from sleeping with a bottle, tend to be overlooked by parents.

The pain can become so severe, and the teeth so decayed, that the only option for these toddlers — often under the age of four — is sedation and extraction. A specially outfitted digital camera is used to take photos of children's teeth by a child care centre health assistant. The photos are then sent electronically to paediatric dentists, who review the files in batches, identifying those toddlers with ECC.

Dentists believe that this new screening system is the first of its kind, and will pave the way for earlier identification of the cavities before they become a painful problem for young toddlers — and a costly one for states across the US footing the bill for Medicaid.

‘We have identified a very simple, cost-effective method to screen for this common childhood disease before it becomes a much larger problem,’ said Dorota Kopycka-Kedzierawski, Assistant Professor of Dentistry and author of the study. ‘By catching ECC at its earliest stage, we will effectively save the patient and parent toothache and heartache, decrease use of emergency room services, and increase the usage of dentists by this underserved population.’

In total, 162 children from one to five years of age in six Rochester inner-city child care centres were screened, with almost 40% shown to have ECC. Once identified, parents received a letter alerting them to their child's oral disease, and were provided with a referral so the problem could be treated.

Three months later, all children were rescreened to determine how many had actually seen a dentist to correct the problem. About 25% of children did receive dental services, though the sample size in this study is too small to make generalised conclusions. Now, researchers are focused on finding grants to help support follow-up efforts so that all toddlers identified with ECC will receive the much needed dental care.