Received: 13 June 2017 ed: 14 December 2017 Do:10.1111/cdoe12362 ORIGINAL ARTICLE WILEY DSMALEMDEMOLOGCY WHO Global consultation on public health Intervention against early childhood Caries Prathip PhantumvanitI Yuka Makino2oD I Hiroshi Ogawa I Andrew Rugg-Gunn45 Paula Moynihan I Poul Erik Petersen,/I Wendell EvansI Carlos Benoit Varenne- I Tippanart Vichayanrat3/ Yupin Songpaisap4, Ran Alberto Feldens'I Edward Lo 0I Mohammad H Khoshnevisan| Ramon Baez12 Margaret WoodwardI Siriruk Nakornchai 3I Chantana Ungchusaki5 Thammasat University Bangkok, Thailand Abstract world Health Organization, Genev Early Childhood Caries(ECC) is prevalent around the world, but in particular the dis ease is growing rapidly in low- and middle-income countries in parallel with chang nEwcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, U ing diet and lifestyles. In many countries, ECC is often left untreated, a condition The Borrow Foundation, Hampshire, UK which leads to pain and adversely affects general health growth and development, World Health Organization Regional Office and quality of life of children, their families and their communities. Importantly, ECC for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark is also a global public health burden, medically, socially and economically. In many University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark countries, a substantial number of children require general anaesthesia for the treat University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia ment of caries in their primary teeth (usually extractions), and this has considerable uNiversidade Luterana do brasil rio cost and social implications. a WHO Global Consultation with oral health experts Grande do sul. Brazil on"Public Health Intervention against Early Childhood Caries"was held on 26-28 uNiversity of Hong Kong. Hong Kong. January 2016 in Bangkok(Thailand) to identify public health solutions and to high- 1i shahid Beheshti University of Medical light their applicability to low- and middle-income countries. After a 3-day consulta tion, participants agreed on specific recommendations for further action. Nationa School of Dentistry, University of Texas alth Science Center. San Antonio, TX health authorities should develop strategies and implement interventions aimed at preventing and controlling ECC. These should align with existing international initia 13Mahidol University, Bangkok,Thailand tives such as the Sixtieth World Health Assembly Resolution WHA 60.17 Oral Asuranaree University of Technolog Nakhon Ratchasima. Thailand health: action plan for promotion and integrated disease prevention, WHO Guideline I The Ministry of Public Health in Thailand on Sugars and WHo breastfeeding recommendation. eCC prevention and control Bangkok, Thailand terventions should be integrated into existing primary healthcare systems. WHO public health principles must be considered when tackling the effect of social deter- minants in ECC Initiatives aimed at modifying behaviour should focus on Email: makino @who in and communities. The involvement of communities in health promotion and ECC is essential. Surveillance and research, including cost-effectiveness studies should be conducted to evaluate interventions aimed at preventing ECC in different population groups. authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this artide, and they do not cessarily represent the views, decisions Bo 92018 The World Health Organization wileyonlinelibrary. com/journal/ cdoe ommunity Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2018: 46: 280-28ORIGINAL ARTICLE WHO Global Consultation on Public Health Intervention against Early Childhood Caries Prathip Phantumvanit1 | Yuka Makino2 | Hiroshi Ogawa3 | Andrew Rugg-Gunn4,5 | Paula Moynihan4 | Poul Erik Petersen6,7 | Wendell Evans8 | Carlos Alberto Feldens9 | Edward Lo10 | Mohammad H. Khoshnevisan11 | Ramon Baez12 | Benoit Varenne2 | Tippanart Vichayanrat13 | Yupin Songpaisan14 | Margaret Woodward5 | Siriruk Nakornchai13 | Chantana Ungchusak15 1 Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand 2 World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland 3 Niigata University, Niigata, Japan 4 Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK 5 The Borrow Foundation, Hampshire, UK 6 World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark 7 University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark 8 University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia 9 Universidade Luterana do Brasil, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil 10University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China 11Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 12School of Dentistry, University of Texas health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA 13Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand 14Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand 15The Ministry of Public Health in Thailand, Bangkok, Thailand Correspondence Yuka Makino, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. Email: makinoy@who.int Abstract Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is prevalent around the world, but in particular the dis￾ease is growing rapidly in low- and middle-income countries in parallel with chang￾ing diet and lifestyles. In many countries, ECC is often left untreated, a condition which leads to pain and adversely affects general health, growth and development, and quality of life of children, their families and their communities. Importantly, ECC is also a global public health burden, medically, socially and economically. In many countries, a substantial number of children require general anaesthesia for the treat￾ment of caries in their primary teeth (usually extractions), and this has considerable cost and social implications. A WHO Global Consultation with oral health experts on “Public Health Intervention against Early Childhood Caries” was held on 26-28 January 2016 in Bangkok (Thailand) to identify public health solutions and to high￾light their applicability to low- and middle-income countries. After a 3-day consulta￾tion, participants agreed on specific recommendations for further action. National health authorities should develop strategies and implement interventions aimed at preventing and controlling ECC. These should align with existing international initia￾tives such as the Sixtieth World Health Assembly Resolution WHA 60.17 Oral health: action plan for promotion and integrated disease prevention, WHO Guideline on Sugars and WHO breastfeeding recommendation. ECC prevention and control interventions should be integrated into existing primary healthcare systems. WHO public health principles must be considered when tackling the effect of social deter￾minants in ECC. Initiatives aimed at modifying behaviour should focus on families and communities. The involvement of communities in health promotion, and popula￾tion-directed and individual fluoride administration for the prevention and control of ECC is essential. Surveillance and research, including cost-effectiveness studies, should be conducted to evaluate interventions aimed at preventing ECC in different population groups. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article, and they do not necessarily represent the views, decisions or policies of the institutions with which they are affiliated. Received: 13 June 2017 | Accepted: 14 December 2017 DOI: 10.1111/cdoe.12362 280 | © 2018 The World Health Organization wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cdoe Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2018;46:280–287