DOI: 10.3290/j.ohpd.a34997, PubMed ID (PMID): 26525122Pages 77-83, Language: EnglishMoimaz, Suzely Adas Saliba / Borges, Heloisa Carvalho / Saliba, Orlando / Garbin, Cléa Adas Saliba / Saliba, Nemre AdasPurpose: To investigate the association between sociobehavioural variables and the pattern and severity of early childhood caries in Brazilian infants and toddlers ages 0-3 years.
Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with 768 children who attended 58 public nursery schools. Five previously calibrated teams (Kappa = 0.842) performed oral examinations, using the decayed, missing, filled teeth (dmft) index according to the WHO methodology. A pretested, self-administered questionnaire was given to the subjects' parents or guardians to obtain sociobehavioural information.
Results: Caries was observed in 134 of the 768 (17%) children. Caries and rampant caries were significantly more prevalent in low-income families (p = 0.0121) and the incidence of caries was associated with access to dental services (p 0.05). The percentages of children who were caries free in the age groups of 0-11 months, 12-23 months, 24-35 months and 36-47 months were 100%, 96%, 88% and 76%, respectively.
Conclusion: Programmes for prevention and oral health education should be instituted, preferably during the first year of life, especially for those in the most socioeconomically deprived groups.
Keywords: dental caries, epidemiology, primary dentition
