Ministry of Health

Dissemination and raising of the level of knowledge among medical peronnel on the principles of the International Code of Marketing Breast-Milk Substitutes, including dissemination of the report and research results regarding the compliance with this Code.

In 2017, it is planned to study children aged 3, adolescents aged 18 and adults aged 35-44 in all voivodeships in Poland. Children aged 3 years do not constitute an indicator group of the World Health Organization, however, their examination is necessary due to the need to recognize not only the frequency and level of decay in primary teeth and the preventive and therapeutic needs, but most of all the causative factors of early childhood caries. This will enable the development of educational programs for parents and past parents aimed at their elimination. Proper health-promoting behaviors in relation to the oral cavity in early childhood, especially during the eruption of subsequent milk teeth, are the basic element of caries prevention in young children. It should be emphasized that tooth decay in children aged 3 years is characterized by a dynamic progress of the disease that is difficult to stop. Untreated caries of freshly erupted deciduous teeth in a short time lead to pulpopathy and the need for endodontic treatment or tooth extraction, i.e. performing stressful treatment procedures, often difficult to accept by a young child and its parents, which may require treatment under general anesthesia. Diagnosing the medical needs for the treatment of tooth decay and its complications in children aged 3 years may constitute the basis for systemic changes concerning the way dental care is provided for the youngest children. The summary of the results of studies conducted in previous years (2002, 2009, 2015) will allow to determine the trend of caries disease in children of this age, analyze the impact of changes in the dental care system in Poland and the importance of disseminating health-promoting educational content in the field of early childhood caries prevention, including among family doctors and paediatricians in 2014, 2015 and 2016.