摘要INTRODUCTIONEarly childhood caries (ECC), formerly referred to as nursing bottle caries and baby bottle tooth decay remains a significant chronic disease of childhood and public health problems. ECC is defined as the presence of one or more decayed (non-cavitated or cavitated), missing (as a result of caries), or filled tooth surfaces in any primary tooth in a child 71 months of age or younger. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) also specifies that, in children younger than 3 years of age, any sign of smooth-surface caries or a dmfs (decayed, missing, or filled surfaces) score of greater than or equal to four (age 3), greater than or equal to five (age 4), or greater than or equal to six (age 5) is indicative of severe early childhood caries (S-ECC)1 (Fig. 1).