Study of the factors associated with dental caries in children who receive early dental care

Abstract

The present study investigated the factors associated with the development of dental caries in preschool children who receive regular dental care and follow-up. The research was carried out at the Baby Clinic, Londrina State University, and comprised two hundred preschool children, whose ages ranged from 24 to 48 months, as well as their mothers, who had already taken part in a dental program at the Baby Clinic during, at least, the previous twelve months. Regarding oral hygiene habits, there was no significant difference between the preschool children who presented with caries and those who did not present with caries. However, the presence of visible bacterial plaque on the upper incisors was strongly associated with the presence of dental caries. Other factors associated with the presence of caries were: period of formal education of the father or of both parents equal or inferior to 8 years, high sugar consumption and bottle-feeding during sleep. In the studied population, the dietary pattern is still the main cause of carious lesions. In addition, the presence of visible bacterial plaque on the labial surface of the upper incisors must be considered as an important clinical sign, often associated with inadequate patterns of diet and oral hygiene.

Cárie precoce: influência de variáveis sócio-comportamentais e do locus de controle da saúde em um grupo de crianças de Araraquara, São Paulo, Brasil

“…Neste estudo, não foi observada nenhuma associação entre escolaridade materna e cárie precoce, sendo tal fato semelhante ao observado por Fraiz & Walter 18 . No entanto, tais resultados diferem dos resultados obtidos em outros estudos 19,20,21,22 .…”

“…Com relação à escolaridade paterna, observou-se associação significativa (p = 0,01) com a cárie precoce. Fato semelhante também foi observado por Fraiz & Walter 18 e Saito et al 23 . Algumas hipóteses poderiam ser levantadas no sentido de explicar essa associação cárie precoce e escolaridade paterna: de acordo com Teitler 24 , o pai, numa visão mais recente, deixou de ser retratado unicamente como provedor, e sim como elemento crítico regulador-chave da instituição socialfamília.…”

“…Neste estudo, não foi observada nenhuma associação entre consumo de açúcar e cárie precoce, contrariando o observado em outros estudos 17,18,29,39,40,41,42 . Sendo, ainda, essa associação considerada, por alguns autores 43,44 , como incontestável.…”

Severe early childhood caries: an integral approach

“…O nível de escolaridade tem sido considerado um importante indicador socioeconômico, e a educação materna está relacionada à prevalência de cárie dental [39][40][41] , assim como o nível de escolaridade dos pais 42,43 . Mattila et al 44 encontraram maior possibilidade de filhos com ceo-d igual a zero quando as mães eram mais velhas, tinham maior escolaridade e ocupação profissional mais elevada.…”

Iowa's Public Health‐Based Infant Oral Health Program: A Decade of Experience

“…7 The oral examinations are done using a cordless DenLite disposable illuminated mirror (Figure 3). The criteria used for recording dental caries are based on the d 1 d 2-3 caries criteria protocol described by Warren et al 10 Because the presence of visible dental plaque on the maxillary incisors has been reported to be strongly associated with both future risk and presence of dental caries among very young children, 15,16 presence of plaque is inspected visually by the naked eye, or with the aid of a dental explorer, and without disclosing solution on each facial surface of the four maxillary incisors for all children (Figure 2). Definitions of ECC and Severe ECC (S-ECC) are used as described by the AAPD guidelines.…”