Nationally, rates of early childhood caries, or tooth decay, among Hispanic, American Indian, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander children are almost double those of white children, making it the most prevalent chronic disease among these populations—occurring five times as frequently as asthma.
Researchers at… Read more
Viacheslav “Slava” Fofanov, PhD
Assistant Professor
School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems
Why do Arizona children have twice the rate of dental caries—also known as tooth decay—as children outside the state?
Socioeconomic status and limited access to dental care explain only part of the difference, said NAU researcher Viacheslav “Slava” Fofanov. “We suspect there is a biological explanation,” he said.
Human mouths are full of bacteria, he said, and about one-third of all people carry a strain… Read more