The higher prevalence and more severe ECC were found in the third and the next born male child from rural environment.

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The frequency of ECC occurence is different among ethnic groups. The highest frequency of ECC is present among the members of ethnic groups whose native language is not Serbian.

Background/Aim. Early childhood caries (ECC) is still unexplored in Vojvodina an autonomous province of the Republic of Serbia. The aim of this study was to determine its prevalence in preschoolers and to define the risk factors that affect the prevalence of this disease. Methods. The survey was designed as a cross-sectional analytical study of preschool children in the region of Vojvodina, the Republic of Serbia. Sample type has been projected as a systematic sample and contained both parents and their children from 13 to 71 months of age. The study was designed with a dental examination of children and self-administered questionnaire which included: gender of children, self-referred socioeconomic status, parental education, oral status and health information level about parents and their child, child oral hygiene habits, type of feeding during infancy, consumption of sweets, and use of medical syrups. The data was further analyzed using the SPSS for Windows Microsoft Excel, version 21. The percentage of caries-free children was compared using χ 2 test; one way ANOVA was used to compare the mean disease indices at the 5% level of significance. Categorical variables were compared for statistical difference across groups using contingency χ 2 tests together with multinomial logistic regression modeling regarding the predictive model for ECC prevention. Results. The case group involved 452 (52.44%) males and 410 (47.56%) females. The prevalence of ECC in children 13-71 months old was 46.64%. Logistic regression model showed that those children who used sweets between meals, were more likely to have ECC (OR = 181.16; 95%, CI = 84.29-389.34), as well as those who used medical syrups more than five times a year in comparison to those who never used medicines (OR = 8.08; 95% CI = 3.78-17.27), among parents with poor oral status (OR = 3.09; 95% CI = 1.65-5.79) and low health informed parents (OR = 217.57; 95% CI = 84.46-560.50). Conclusion. This study suggests an association between the examined risk factors and high ECC prevalence in preschool children in Vojvodina.

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and severity of early childhood caries (ECC) among different social groups of preschool children in ethnic and multilingual diverse community such as South Backa District (SBD), Republic of Serbia.Methods: This survey was a cross-sectional analytical study and sample type has been projected by simple random choice of 13-71 months old children together with their parents of varied socioeconomic status (SES) and nationality in SBD. Preschool children were randomly selected through a two-stage cluster sampling procedure and parents were invited to answer the questionnaire regarding SES, native language, education, and income issues. The WHO caries diagnostic criterion was used and the severity of ECC was defined by Wine's modified criteria. The data was further analyzed using the SPSS for Windows Microsoft Excel, version 21. The percentage of caries-free children was compared using the χ 2 test, and one-way ANOVA was used to compare the mean disease indices at the 5% significance.Results: A total of 341 children were examined and the prevalence of ECC was 30.5%. "White spot" initial caries lesions were the most prevalent form and the highest disease frequency was found in male children (p = 0.038), who did not speak official Serbian language (p = 0.009), in children of the part-time employed parents (p < 0.001), with elementary education (p = 0.001), in low monthly income families (p = 0.023), and Roma ethnic group.Conclusions: The complex interaction of risk factors like social environment along with ethnicity and Serbian language ignorance had a significant influence on the prevalence and severity of ECC in preschool children of this multi-ethnic region.