In a quest to educate pediatric dentists nationwide on the importance of the early dental examination, Dr. Zavras and colleagues analyzed insurance dental claims of 95,000+ children residing in California, Texas, and New York. The authors identified significant benefits of the early visit. Children that visited a dentist early in life received significantly less restorations in their first 5 years. Overall dental costs were also less than the dental costs of children that received care later.

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Dr. Zavras is Professor of Pediatric Dentistry and Chairman of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Boston University. He is also adjunct Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.