Efficacy of an oral health promotion intervention in the prevention of early childhood caries

The crucial importance of early childhood for a child’s further development is recognized by all professions involved in developmental care. To foster general well-being and quality in a child’s life, a wide set of health and nonhealth outcomes must be achieved. There is consensus in the literature that the child’s quality of life is characterized by four core domains: physical symptoms (pain and fatigue), functional status (ability to perform age – appropriate daily activities), psychological functioning (affective states, adjustment indices and self-esteem) and social functioning (the number, type and quality of social contacts and relationships) (1).