Preschool Kids Get Socked In the Mouth

Young children are developing more cavities in their baby teeth than kids were a decade ago, the CDC reported yesterday, a worrisome development that reverses a 40-year trend. Preschool children—"thousands and thousands of kids," in the words of one researcher—were the only age group in which the incidence of tooth decay increased.

The rise in cavities, which is also linked to unfluoridated bottled water, shares causes with the obesity epidemic shadowing American children: poor eating habits, processed foods, and sugary drinks. "I can't tell you the number of kids that come into our waiting room sipping on a Mountain Dew," one dentist told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. (More health stories.)