Prevalence of Early Childhood Caries Among 2- to 5-year-old Preschoolers in Kindergartens of Weifang City, China: A Cross-sectional Study

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of early childhood caries (ECC) in 2- to 5-year-old preschool children in Weifang City, China, and to investigate the factors related to this condition. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 2829 children (2-5 years old, including 1601 boys and 1228 girls) in twenty kindergartens in Weifang City, China, in 2014. These children were selected via cluster sampling. First, the percentages of ECC and severe ECC (S-ECC) as well as the mean dmft were compared between different genders and ages, and the tooth distribution pattern of ECC was analysed. Meanwhile, the information regarding feeding and oral hygiene practices was collected by a questionnaire with 14 questions to evaluate their relationships with the percentages of ECC and S-ECC as well as the mean dmft. The chi-squared test, t-test and one-way ANOVA were conducted to evaluate the significant differences. Results: The ECC prevalence of the preschoolers was 53.3%, and the mean dmft was 2.12 ± 2.56. 71.4% of the 1509 children with ECC were identified as S-ECC. Not only the percentages of ECC and S-ECC but also the mean dmft differed statistically significantly according to gender and age (p 0.05). Furthermore, caries was most common in primary maxillary central incisors. Feeding and oral hygiene practices were shown to be the significant determining factors for caries. Conclusions: The oral health status of children living in Weifang is very poor. Appropriate strategies must be implemented to promote oral health early on by improving feeding and oral hygiene practices. Keywords: China, dmft, early childhood caries, feeding and oral hygiene, prevalence