Abstract
BackgroundThe prevalence of early childhood caries (ECC) among children in Beijing, China, has been increasing continuously though slowly. However, there is limited information about ECC in Beijing. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors of dental caries among preschool children in Beijing.MethodsFor this case-control study, using a convenience sampling method, 787 children aged 3 and 4 years old were recruited; 386 children with caries constituted the early childhood caries (ECC) group and 401children without caries formed the caries-free (CF) group. Dental caries was diagnosed at the tooth surface level by two calibrated examiners according to the WHO 1997 criteria. A structured questionnaire was filled in by the children’s main guardians. Mutans streptococci in non stimulated saliva and plaque were measured with the Dentocult SM Strip. Negative binomial regression was used for multivariate analysis.ResultsAnalysis of the data showed that level of mutans streptococci in dental plaque and history of dental visit were significantly correlated with the prevalence of caries and the mean dmfs score.ConclusionsHigh level of plaque mutans streptococci is a risk factor for ECC in preschool children in Beijing. And longitudinal studies are needed to identify the causal relationships between the levels of mutans streptococci in dental plaque and caries development.
Highlights
The prevalence of early childhood caries (ECC) among children in Beijing, China, has been increasing continuously though slowly
The caries prevalence and mean dmfs score of these children were 49 % and 4.50 ± 7.92. These children were separated into two groups: a caries (ECC) group, comprising 386 children with dmfs ≥1, Table 1 Characteristics of participants and results of laboratory tests
The prevalence of caries and the mean dmfs score were higher in children with more plaque mutans streptococci (Table 3). To our knowledge, this is the first study on the risk factors of ECC in China that has measured mutans streptococci levels in both non stimulated saliva and plaque [2, 18,19,20]
Summary
The prevalence of early childhood caries (ECC) among children in Beijing, China, has been increasing continuously though slowly. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors of dental caries among preschool children in Beijing. The prevalence of early childhood caries (ECC) is especially high in developing countries [3]. An oral health survey of Beijing residents in 2010 showed that the prevalence of caries among children age groups at 2, 3, 4 and 5 years old were 20, 40, 55 and 66 %, respectively [12]. A 2005 study reported the prevalence of caries in 5-year-old children was 58.6 % [13]. There are few studies on the prevalence and risk factors of ECC in children under 5 years of age in Beijing.
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