Dental cavities, including gum disease, can occur at any age but are exceedingly prevalent in infants and young children. Several crucial factors have been implicated, ranging from poor dental hygiene to extended use of nursing bottles. Dental decay in infants is a devastating problem. The sharing of food and utensils with adults has also been implicated with dental cavities in young children.
Adults also exhibit a significant number of dental related problems.
This is often a continuation of the dental problems from their childhood or young adulthood. Risk factors associated with the prevalence of dental disease in adults include increasing age, lack of dental care, tobacco use and diabetes. Diabetes and tobacco use together seem to a factor in dental problems in adults, and may account for the very high incidence of dental problems in Native American people. Prevention seems to be an extremely important tool in combating dental disease in all age groups. Smoking cessation, good diabetes control and periodic examination by a dentist play pivotal roles.