Objective The study assessed the time until first dental caries for young children seen at 5 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) in Iowa and the relationship with the frequency and gaps (in months) of dental episodes, the number of topical fluoride treatments, and the number of dentists caring for the subject. first dental caries increased by approximately 2% with each additional month that transpired between preventive recall examinations. In addition, children with older siblings who had a dental visit at the same center during the previous year prior to the subjects first visit were more likely to have a longer time until first dental caries. Conclusions Timing of dental care episodes was associated with caries experience in young children from low income families. Dental professionals should focus on regularity of dental care in order to prevent or delay caries experience in young children. Introduction Dental caries remains the most prevalent chronic disease among U.S. children (1), with its impact especially affecting children from lower socio-economic families (2C5). The literature is usually replete with articles concerning caries risk factors (6C9) and the use of caries prediction models to target individuals (10). Similarly, researchers have explored caries associations with the childs birthweight (11, 12), mode of birth delivery (13, 14), Apgar score (15), parental tobacco use (16, 17), soft drink consumption and dietary patterns (18, 19), childs weight gain (20, 21), and the familys geographic location and belief of dental fatalism (22). Family structure and the mothers use of dental services also appear to have an impact around the childs caries experience (23, 24). Concern about caries experience among children, especially at the preschool years, has been a catalyst for devoting one of the U.S. oral health objectives to reduce the proportion of young children aged 3 to 5 5 years with dental caries experience in their primary teeth (25). Although there is a sharp increase in annual dental utilization by the time of school entry (26), the percent of children who see a dentist before age 3 is extremely low, especially among more indigent families even though professional guidelines recommend children receive their first dental visit by 737763-37-0 supplier age one (27C29). The 737763-37-0 supplier intent is usually to provide a dental home where the child can be clinically examined for dental caries manifestations, a caries risk analysis can be performed, and providers can impart anticipatory guidance about oral growth and development and measures to protect the dentition (30). The importance of an early first dental visit, coupled with ongoing 737763-37-0 supplier dental care, could have a profound effect on preventing disease and reducing cost, both at the individual and societal level (31, 32). The National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA) represents a network of dental providers at federally qualified health centers (FQHC) who care for more than 4 million underserved individuals nationally (33). NNOHA has recommended the year one oral health examination (34). FQHCs are a key part of the oral health care safety net, delivering a significant level of health care and 737763-37-0 supplier other health-related services to uninsured, Medicaid, and other vulnerable patients (35). The Medicaid program in the United States, which was established as an amendment to the Social Security Act of 1965, is usually a health and long-term care coverage program that is jointly financed by says and the federal government to address the requires of lower income families. Each state has established and administered its own program by determining the type, amount, duration, and scope of services covered using broad federal guidelines. However, says Hsp25 must cover several mandatory benefits, including dental care for children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors related to the time.