Along with pain, consider the following negative health effects of Early Childhood Caries (ECC):
ECC can also impact a child's education. According to a 1992 study by Helen Gift, et al, approximately 51 million school hours per year
are missed due to dental problems, most of which result from caries. More school is missed by poor, Hispanic females without dental insurance than any other children. Missed school for children also translates into missed work and lost wages for caregivers.
The financial burden of repairing severe ECC is enormous. ECC results in increased office, dental, and ER visits, with such costs often far exceeding those of preventive dental care.
Several studies have investigated the cost of prevention versus treatment of disease and confirm that it is significantly more expensive to treat caries than to prevent them. It is approximately 10 times more expensive to provide inpatient care for dental caries-related symptoms than to provide that same patient with the recommended periodic preventive care.