Early childhood feeding practices and dental caries in preschool children: a multi-centre birth cohort study

Abstract

BackgroundDental caries (decay) is an international public health challenge, especially amongst young children. Early Childhood Caries is a rapidly progressing disease leading to severe pain, anxiety, sepsis and sleep loss, and is a major health problem particularly for disadvantaged populations. There is currently a lack of research exploring the interactions between risk and protective factors in the development of early childhood caries, in particular the effects of infant feeding practises.Methods/DesignThis is an observational cohort study and involves the recruitment of a birth cohort from disadvantaged communities in South Western Sydney. Mothers will be invited to join the study soon after the birth of their child at the time of the first home visit by Child and Family Health Nurses. Data on feeding practices and dental health behaviours will be gathered utilizing a telephone interview at 4, 8 and 12 months, and thereafter at 6 monthly intervals until the child is aged 5 years. Information collected will include a) initiation and duration of breastfeeding, b) introduction of solid food, c) intake of cariogenic and non-cariogenic foods, d) fluoride exposure, and e) oral hygiene practices. Children will have a dental and anthropometric examination at 2 and 5 years of age and the main outcome measures will be oral health quality of life, caries prevalence and caries incidence.DiscussionThis study will provide evidence of the association of early childhood feeding practices and the oral health of preschool children. In addition, information will be collected on breastfeeding practices and the oral health concerns of mothers living in disadvantaged areas in South Western Sydney.

The Contribution of Life Course Determinants to Early Childhood Caries: A 2-Year Cohort Study

“…previous studies, the factors found to be associated with ECC have included low socioeconomic status [Warren et al, 2008, high consumption of sugary snacks or beverages [Thitasomakul et al, 2009;Warren et al, 2009], poor diet [Palmer et al, 2010], irregular feeding practices [Feldens et al, 2010b;Arora et al, 2011], nutritional problems [Feldens et al, 2010a], poor oral hygiene [Warren et al, 2008], and higher levels of mutans streptococci [Warren et al, 2008;Kanasi et al, 2010;Palmer et al, 2010]. While the above-mentioned studies have identified a number of risk factors associated with ECC, most of these studies were conducted among preschool children (3-year-olds or older) and only a minority investigated ECC in 1-year-old or younger children.…”

Relación entre determinantes socioeconómicos, cobertura en salud y caries dental en veinte países

“…Las primeras etapas de la lesión cariosa no se detectan con un examen clínico tradicional ni con un examen radiográfico; sin embargo, al interrumpirse el equilibrio microbioló-gico del biofilm, se detiene el proceso de destrucción de la superficie dental, por ello el principal tratamiento en estos estadios consiste en medidas medianamente invasivas como la exposición a flúor tópico, colocación de sellantes, pulido coronal, acompañado de mejoramientos en las condiciones, técnicas y conocimientos del cuidado personal y hábitos en higiene oral que influyan en el comportamiento del individuo, terapias conocidas como promoción de la salud y prevención de la enfermedad (16,(28)(29)(30).…”

Prevalence of Early Childhood Caries and associated Risk Factors from 1 to 12 years Old Children

“…It continues to affect babies and preschool children all over the globe. [3][4][5][6][7][8]. It (ECC) is five times more common than any other systemic diseases (such as asthma) and it is seven times more common as hay fever [29].…”