Abstract
Aim: To find the prevalence of ECC with respect to various maternal behavioral characteristics.
 Study Design: Cross-sectional study
 Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Sharad Pawar Dental college, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, Maharashtra, India between 2012-2013
 Methodology: The study comprised of 540 children aged 6 months to 6 years attending the OPD. Structured questionnaire consisting of questions related to maternal factors affecting ECC was formatted for the study. Maternal factors included number of siblings in family, education, occupation, socioeconomic status, feeding practices, oral hygiene practices of mother and child. Age wise comparison of dental caries was done with every parameter along with number of teeth affected.
 Results: Out of 540 children, 43.33% children were affected with dental caries and 56.67% children were not affected with dental caries. There was no statistically significant difference among the variables like number of siblings, occupation, socioeconomic status, feeding habits, oral hygiene status of mother and child except for educational qualification of mother.
 Conclusions: Epidemiological data of the present study evaluating the co-relation between maternal behavior characteristics and ECC in children of Wardha district can be utilized for improved public oral health service planning within the region.
Highlights
Childhood Caries (ECC) is the disease characterized by the presence of 1 or more decayed, missing, or filled tooth surfaces in any primary tooth in a child under the age of 6 [1,2]
Biological risk-factors consist of early colonization by cariogenic micro-organisms, feeding habits and nutritional factors while socialrisk factors include low-socioeconomic status, low parental education, and lack of awareness of oral diseases [5]
Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is associated with sweetened pacifier usage, poor oral hygiene, early colonization and high levels of cariogenic bacteria, other factors such as socioeconomicstatus, parental education level, and maternal flora [6]
Summary
Childhood Caries (ECC) is the disease characterized by the presence of 1 or more decayed (non-cavitated/cavitated lesions), missing (due to caries), or filled tooth surfaces in any primary tooth in a child under the age of 6 [1,2]. Biological risk-factors consist of early colonization by cariogenic micro-organisms, feeding habits and nutritional factors while socialrisk factors include low-socioeconomic status, low parental education, and lack of awareness of oral diseases [5]. Mother is the primary caregiver for infants and takes care of the dietary habits of child throughout day. ECC is associated with sweetened pacifier usage, poor oral hygiene, early colonization and high levels of cariogenic bacteria, other factors such as socioeconomicstatus, parental education level, and maternal flora [6]. As the number of order of siblings increases, attention paid to elder sibling becomes less. All these maternal factors influence ECC in infants
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