Oral Health and Dental Management

Abstract

Sever early childhood caries in a sample of preschool Children attending a Pediatric Dentistry Clinic from Bucharest

Rodica Luca, Aneta Ivan, Ioana Stanciu and Arina Vinereanu

Aim. To evaluate the prevalence (Ip) of severe early childhood caries (S-ECC) in a group of preschool children at their first visit in clinic (during 2001), the severity of the lesions and the influences of some social and behavioral factors upon the onset and evolution of the condition. Material and methods. I) Data drawn from dental records of 180 children (age 4.43±0.22 yr.) analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2000 and Student Test. II) Questionnaires on social (SF) and behavioral (BF) topics answers by mothers of the children with S-ECC. Results. I) Ip=31.66%; 89.46% of the S-ECC children had complicated caries; 56.15% had affected molars (besides upper incisors). II) (SF) 52.94% of the mothers were under 25 at the time of childbirth and 82.35% were junior high/high school graduates. (BF) 61.76% of the S-ECC children were bottle-fed after the age of 3, contents of the bottle usually sweetened; 67% of the mothers gave the bottle to their children before he/she fell asleep and most of them did not remove it afterwards; 97.05% of the mothers used feeding as a pacifying method at night; 1/3 of the S-ECC children commenced toothbrushing after the age of 3. Conclusion. The relatively high prevalence of S-ECC points out the need of parents education programs on infant and toddler care and about the appropriate moment for the child\\\\\\\'s first dental visit.