A new study shows that not many children see the dentist by the recommended age of 12 months. Less than one percent of healthy children from urban areas in Toronto saw a dentist before age 1 and less than two percent received dental care before 2 years old.

Researchers conducted a survey with 2,505 children from TARGET Kids, The Applied Research Group for Kids which follows kids from birth to prevent common problems in their early years and understand the impact of disease and health in the long run. The children were aged about 4 years and 39 percent among them had never visited a dentist.

The study shows that children who had not visited a dentist were associated with low family income, younger age, higher intake of sweetened beverages and prolonged use of baby bottles. Each cup of sweetened drinks taken daily increased the odds of not having been to a dentist by 20 percent.

"For a lot of people, visiting the dentist is an unrealistic expectation," study author and pediatrician at St. Michael's Hospital Dr. Jonathon Maguire said. "They can't afford preventive care. But we know when children do go to a dentist within the first year, there are cost savings. It prevents a lot of problems down the road."

Tooth caries can cause not only pain in kids but also poor nutrition, feeding problems and even behavioral ones. If a large cavity is left untreated, it can lead to an abscess, which can spread and infect the bloodstream. Though it can prevent the child from feeling the pain, nerve damage does not remove the bacteria that are still eating away. Worst possible situation is when the abscess spreads to the child's brain and result to death.

Previous studies showed that children who had preventive dental care by the age of 1 are less likely to need emergency or restorative treatment, have less dental disease and have lower dental care costs especially among populations with high risks. Families may not be able to take their young children to the dentist due to financial constraints, school attendance policies, transportation access and an old belief that dental care may not be that important to the well-being of the child.

Dental care is provided in private practice and not part of the universal health care system in Canada and the United States.