Dr. Maritess Oliveros Villarico, a Filipino dentist and child oral health advocate, won the Southeast Asian Child Oral Health Research Award in Spain last month for her research titled “Risk Factors for Early Childhood Caries in High-Prevalence Populations.”
The study was conducted at a village clinic in Caloocan City, Philippines, and followed young children for two years, including the COVID-19 lockdown period.
The results showed that 76.5% of the children surveyed (average age 36 months, with about 19 primary teeth) had caries.
“Oral health education should be included in maternal and child health care programs, and interventions should begin even before children’s teeth erupt,” Dr. Villarico stressed.
Her research also promotes the development of dental trauma management and pediatric endodontics.
The winning entries were carefully judged by an international panel of experts and stood out from many entries from Southeast Asia. The award was sponsored by the Taiwan Association of Pediatric Dentistry.
