Early Childhood Caries in American Indian Children: Looking Beyond the Usual Causes

I had the great pleasure to interview Dr. Lawrence D. Robertson, retired Pediatrician and President of the non-profit group QUEST: Quantifying, Understanding, and Eliminating Severe Tooth Decay in American Indian Children. The group tries to understand why indigenous children experience much higher caries rates and caries severity than other children, and why the recommended caries control measures that have been implemented are not producing their intended results of decreasing and eliminating tooth decay in these children.

Since 2009, with the support of the American Dental Association and DentaQuest Foundation, Dr. Robertson has organized 7 symposia on caries in American Indian children. In the 2010 Symposium he challenged participants to identify the knowledge gaps behind the lack of significant clinical progress with these children. Today we will talk about what has been learned since then.

I hope you enjoy the conversation and find it interesting. Please share your thoughts, questions and feedback through oasisdiscussions@cda-adc.ca

Until next time!

Chiraz Guessaier
CDA Oasis Manager