Issues of oral health in children revolve almost exclusively around dental caries. In the
United States, dental caries is the most common chronic childhood disease, 1 and its treatment is
the most prevalent unmet health need in children. 2 A substantial portion of caries lesions can be
prevented; indeed, the incidence of this disease has declined among school-age children and
adults in the past three decades. However, incidence among preschool children has not declined
at a similar rate over this same time period.